Lost in the Dark
by E.M. Megs
Summary: Her kingdom was brought down before she even knew it existed, leaving her and the King to flee from the Witch and Narian forces that would kill them if they knew who they were. 20 years later, the Narian Prince who saw through her disguise as a Kiran male aristocrat would become the biggest danger to her safety in a plot to end wars, curses, and face fears. Fantasy AU - KyoHaru
1. Prologue

_Lost in the Dark_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl_

_Prologue_

There was a time when Mora wasn't a threat. When Mora, Kira, and Nari all got along peacefully. This was before the current Moradian King came to power.

Now, Mora was slowly becoming a threat, thanks to the aid of The Witch's daughter who had married the Moradian King against her mother's wishes. The Kiran King made a deal with The Witch a year after his son had been born. Diplomatic immunity in exchange for half of Mora's land should there be a war between Nari and Mora.

The Witch then went to the Narian King, proposing an alliance to take down the Moradian empire. Her hatred for the man who had stolen her daughter's heart overrode her love for her daughter. The news that they now had a daughter of their own just spurred on her anger.

The Alliance made, The Witch headed to the Moradian palace to '_visit_'her daughter and granddaughter.

"Mother," she stated in surprise, "What're you doing here?"

"To see my granddaughter," The Witch replied with a growl. Her daughter shared a look with her husband.

"I don't... think that's proper at the moment, Mother," she murmured softly, "She's only just fallen asleep."

The Witch glared at her. "I will see her regardless."

"No you won't," the father of the baby spoke up. "I won't have you harming her, _Witch_."

Her gaze turned cold as she looked at her son-in-law. "Who said I was going to harm her, _scum_," she muttered coolly.

"Mother!"

"He isn't worthy of marrying someone of the witch line. Though, I suppose he's already tainted you. You really aren't worth keeping alive any longer." Before the mother could react she vanished to the Outlands where she would most certainly starve to death.

"I'll leave you to the Narian army," she said softly, pushing past the shocked husband. He grabbed hold of her but she vanished, reappearing at the top of the stairs. "That daughter of yours, however, will be _cursed_," she cackled.

"No!" the King yelled, racing up the stairs from where The Witch had disappeared into his daughter's bedroom. He couldn't reach The Witch in time to save his daughter from the curse.

"You, little one, will be cursed to _kill _any man who dares to fall in love with you. And if you dare to love them back, you will perish with them," she said softly, eyes flashing and fingers glowing as she touched the baby princess's forehead. She vanished into thin air as the King of Mora barged in and gathered his little princess in his arms.

"Sir! The castle's defenses are falling!" a messenger of the General yelled only moments later. "The Narian army is invading!"

The King held his daughter in his arms and closed his eyes.

"Gather my top guard and his family. We're fleeing to Kira," he said softly. The messenger nodded and ran back out the door. "I'll make this up to you, my little girl."

–

_The Kingdom of Mora has fallen. The King, Queen, and Princess are dead. _

–

**A/N: This came up when I was thinking about Ouran and Ella Enchanted simultaneously (don't ask me why, I have no clue why either). Thus, this is the product. **

**There it is. Where my boredom has led me. The rather sloppily written prologue of this thing that I only vaguely know what is going to happen from here. Hopefully, where ever it goes, it'll be better written than this, and longer (after all it's only the prologue). **

**I tried to clean it up a LITTLE. But y'know... I'm lazy. **

**Correct guesses as to who the princess is get double kudos. **


	2. 1: The Kiran Years

_Lost in the Dark_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 1 – The Kiran Years_

They fled, changing their identities to those of lower class noblemen. They hid undercover as part of the Kiran royal court. No one knew of their true identities. If they did, they would be killed.

Narian officials proclaimed the royal family and guard to be dead. The Witch was very pleased and granted the Nari Empire much of her magic.

The single guard escaped with the Moradian royal family along with his wife and twin sons, Hikaru and Kaoru. They had no need to change their identities.

–

"Dad," six-year-old Namahi asked in the safety of their palace chambers, "Why can't anyone know that I'm a girl?"

Ranka sighed, kneeling down to put his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Sweetie, there are people who would hurt you if they knew."

"But why? What makes me so special?"

Ranka brought a hand to his head, rubbing his temples in circles. "You know the old Mora Empire right?" Namahi nodded. "Do you know why it fell?" This time, Namahi shook herhead. "The Narians allied with The Witch and together they tore us down."

"Us?" At the rate this child was asking questions he'd have spilled the entire story to her in one night.

"Yes. Us. You have to promise never to tell anyone. Not even Hikaru and Kaoru, alright?" She nodded, wide-eyed. "Your mother was The Witch's daughter. She didn't approve of her marrying me, so she decided to take us out."

"So... The Witch is my... Grandma?"

Ranka nodded. "Very good, _Haruhi_." She looked at him funny. "No one can know you're a girl, because you're really _Princess Haruhi Fujioka_." Haruhi's eyes widened even more. "No telling, _anyone_."

"I'm... a _princess_?" Ranka nodded and kissed her forehead. "So... You're a... King?" Again, her father nodded. "And Mom... was Queen?"

"Your mother would be so proud of you," Ranka murmured, pushing her hair behind her ears. "You look just like her. Which is also why, you _must _avoid The Witch as well. She'll know right off the bat that you're her granddaughter."

"Dad, if Mom was a witch, does that mean I am too?" she asked softly.

"Half. And no one can ever know."

"But why can't they know I'm a girl? Why can't I be a _girl _in hiding?"

Ranka closed his eyes. "Haruhi, your grandmother... She cursed you because you're my child. I don't want my daughter to be a killer because of some stupid curse."

"What do you mean, Dad?" Her big brown eyes were staring at him curiously when he opened his eyes.

"She cursed you, to kill any man that falls in love with you, sweetie. That's why you have to pretend to be a boy. So that no one will fall in love with you. So that my little girl won't become a killer."

–

"Namahi, this is Prince Tamaki Suoh," Ranka said softly, nudging his daughter forward. He had been accepted into the royal Kiran court and the Prince was only a year older than her. After a meeting with the King it had been decided that they would probably make wonderful friends. The 8-year-old eyed the older boy warily.

Would this be a boy who would fall in love with her it he knew she was a girl? It seemed like she had been asked herself this question with every boy that she met since she had found out about her curse 2 years ago.

Even the twins, who she had been playmates with since as long as she could remember had been questioned in her mind at one point. They'd been deemed safe. And now they'd found out she was a girl only about 4 months ago.

She shook her little head. She shouldn't worry about it. As long as the Prince didn't find out she was a girl she was sure that he wouldn't fall in love with her. She bowed politely. "Nice to meet you, Your Highness," she said softly.

He nodded. "You too, Namahi Marioka," he murmured. He seemed polite enough. Not at all snooty like the children of the royal court who she had met. "Let's be friends, kay?"

She nodded slowly in agreement. "Alright!" she said, smiling widely at him. No, this boy wouldn't fall in love with her. In fact, she thought that they'd be great friends.

–

A bell ringer ran through the streets, calling out the news of the day. 10-year-old Namahi sighed and turned away from the noisy man like she normally did. "Dad!" she called through the door of their house.

"Yes?" he yelled back, appearing in the entry hall a moment later, wiping his hands on a rag.

"I'm going to the lake with the twins and the Prince," she mumbled.

"Alright! Have fun and don't go in the water!" he reminded her. She rolled her eyes in response. Like she was actually stupid enough to throw away 10 years of secrecy by deciding to go for a swim in the presence of the royal prince of Kira. She _wished _she could go swimming. It would be very nice, but she couldn't risk it.

"I'm not stupid, Dad."

"Namahi!" she heard the call from down the street. She turned. Hikaru and Kaoru were rushing toward her and her father. "Did you hear?!" they exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Hear what?" she asked blankly.

"The Narians have taken over the Eastern Tip!"

Her face paled considerably, as did her father's. That wasn't too far from here. In fact, it was less than 20 miles away. Not to mention the lake was in the region they called the Eastern Tip. Ranka and his daughter shared a brief look. "I'll contact the King and see if we can get a place in the palace or at least closer," he murmured distractedly, ducking back in the little house. Namahi nodded.

As part of the royal court they had the choice to live near the palace or away from it. They had chosen to live about 250 miles from the Kiran-Narian border, saying that they'd move closer if the war brought Nari any closer to them.

It had been raging on for so long now it was almost ridiculous. As long as she could remember she had been hearing news about how the Narians were slowly invading the Kiran kingdom, aiming to take over the entire world.

Before now, they had never succeeded in taking possession of any of Kira's land. When Mora had fallen, they had taken half the land and given the other half to The Witch. Tamaki had told her that The Witch and his father had made a deal not long after he was born to have that land given to Kira.

Nari hadn't been that pleased when they had found out. Thus, the beginning of the war had started when she was only 3-years-old.

"Looks like we'll have to cancel the lake trip," Hikaru muttered unhappily, furrowing his eyebrows in a frown.

Namahi nodded regretfully. "The Prince will be disappointed," she said softly. The twins both nodded in agreement. The Prince, would indeed be unhappy, but they could always find another lake and another day to take the trip. In fact, there was probably one closer to the palace where the Idiot Prince would have better access.

–

Life in the palace was quiet... Except when Tamaki was around. The twins took it upon themselves to protect her from the Idiot Prince. Meaning, they teased him mercilessly all the time. When they were 12, he had _almost _found out that she was, in fact, a girl.

"Namahi!" three voices chorused as they burst through her bedroom door on her 12th birthday. She stared at them with murder in her eyes, quickly covering up her body. Hikaru and Kaoru blinked in surprise before quickly pushing the Prince out of the room forcefully. She felt her face heat up and prayed to the Gods that he hadn't seen anything. If he had, she was probably done for.

Upon exiting the room she found the twins and Tamaki sitting against the wall outside. She rose her eyebrows at them and shot the twins a questioning glance. They gave their heads a tiny shake and she let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Thanks to the quick thinking of Hikaru and Kaoru, her secret was safe.

–

"Tamaki Suoh! You idiot!" Namahi yelled, rushing forward with a towel. The Prince had dived into the lake near the palace without a second thought. He could have cracked his head open! Or drowned! Now, one of the guards that had been watching us was pulling him out on the shore. He choked up water.

She hadn't gone in the water, she never did. Doing so would have been a dead giveaway that she was a girl. And that definitely wouldn't have been good. She'd gone 14 years without anyone but Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin finding out her true identity. And those two boys had been sworn to secrecy by both her father and their own.

Said twin boys were also splashing around in the lake at the current moment. But unlike Tamaki, they _weren't _at threat of drowning. And unlike the Prince _they _weren't heirs to the royal throne.

You'd think that Kiran Prince Tamaki Suoh would have more thought about his personal safety. Especially at the age of 15 when he was about to be taught about all the responsibilities that came with being King.

She was pretty sure he was just a carefree idiot, even so.

"Baka Lord! Baka Lord!" Hikaru and Kaoru teased from the water. Namahi shot them a look. They may be close friends of him, but even they could be shot by guards if Tamaki was offended in any way.

"Namahi," Tamaki murmured from the ground in front of her. He coughed as she glanced down. "It's alright. They're just joking around like always."

She rolled her eyes. "Idiot Prince," she muttered, kneeling down next to him, "You could have killed yourself, diving into a shallow lake like that."

He smiled like a fool. "But it was fun!"

Ah, yes. The Idiot Prince would never learn.

–

Surprisingly, she remained very flat chested even through her adolescence. She and her father had both worried frequently as she got older how they would hide her obvious female parts when they arrived.

She had thought that they could bind them down, which they could very easily do with a simple length of cloth wrapped around her chest tightly several times and tied off in a nice knot. By the time she was 17, she would probably have to use this method.

She was right of course.

The time came not long after she turned 17 that her chest had blossomed enough that she was forced to tie it down every day when she woke up. It hid her femininity very well. No one even suspected who she really was, from what she could see anyway. Perhaps, the King noticed something. But that hardly mattered. As long as it wasn't a Narian, The Witch, or a man that could potentially fall in love with her, it didn't matter.

–

"Tamaki, stop it," she hissed angrily, pushing against her bedroom door to keep him out. She hadn't yet finished dressing and he was trying to invade her room at the current moment. "Baka Lord!" she growled.

"Are you hiding a present for me in there or something?" he asked, ceasing in trying to get it and settling for standing outside waiting.

She snorted. "No. I just value my privacy, thanks," she muttered crossly. That had been too close. Sure, her chest was already bound tightly to her chest but her top definitely wasn't on. She quickly yanked her arms through the holes and buttoned it on, just in case he made another attempt at breaking the door down.

That was the first close call she'd had since she was 12. And it left her heart pumping madly in her chest.

"Sorry," he mumbled from the other side of the door.

"It's fine. Come on in, now," she grumbled, plopping her now full-clothed body down on the bed as her door opened.

She just hoped that there wouldn't be any serious close calls when she moved away from home in a three or four years when she graduated from higher learning school.

–

"Tamaki?" she said quietly when he was helping her study for her exams for her second year of higher learning school. She was 19, almost 20. He was 21, slightly more mature than he had been, but still an idiot. He looked up at her. "Do you think that the Narians know the affect they're having on people's lives?"

Tamaki paused. "They have to be aware of it. But, Namahi, the Narians have cold hearts. Trust me, I've met their princes. And their King... Their King is ruthless, much like his third son. They're aware of the damage they're doing, but they just don't care."

She sighed softly. "There needs to be peace," she mumbled, "Peace is what this world needs. Not wars over land."

"I agreed," he muttered, shutting the book that was in front of him.

Namahi chewed on her lip softly. "Y'know, there's a draft coming up," she mumbled. He wasn't really paying attention, staring off in space and nodding. "I think I'm going to join it."

That got his attention. "What?!" he practically yelled, causing a nearby teacher to shush him with a stern look. He lowered his voice with a sheepish look at her. "You're kidding me right?"

She shook her head. "Not kidding, Prince."

"B-But you could get hurt!"

"I'd gladly die if it were for the cause of making peace come at last," she muttered, ducking her head to look back at the book on the table in front of her. Tamaki was staring at her like an alien. She sighed. "I... just want there to be peace, Tamaki. I'm not going to get myself killed. Don't worry."

She knew he was going to worry anyway.

–

Six months later, she returned to the palace as a fully trained soldier of the Kiran Army. She was allowed to stay with her father until she was deported to the front lines God-only-knew when. Her head ached at the thought of killing anyone.

She wished there was another way that she could possibly keep this war from getting any worse. So far, she hadn't found one. Neither had King Suoh or his many advisers who were set on driving Nari into the ground with weapons of warfare that they didn't possess.

They kept the war up to protect themselves. Diplomats had been sent to the Narian castle several times but none of them had succeeded in creating a peaceful solution.

Nari now had the Eastern Tip and parts of the Southern plateau that was just south of it. Kira was losing land and battles. People were dying by the hundreds every day. And there wasn't anything that she, personally, could do about it.

It angered her to no end.

Tamaki was delighted to see her, waving as she rode up the final stretch to the stables with her companions. She dismounted almost before the horse came to a complete stop and was immediately pulled into a bone-crushing hug by her father.

"How was it?" Tamaki asked excitedly from behind Ranka.

"Ehh," she muttered, "Rough. But it's good training for the battlefield."

Her father shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe you joined the army," he said, swinging an arm around her shoulders and leading her back to their house. He gave her a look that said they'd talk about it later. She'd only just told him while she was packing to leave for the training camp, when there was no way for her to reverse the decision. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Just defending my country, Dad," she mumbled, ducking her head and shrugging off his arm. Hikaru and Kaoru were following them, as well as two cousins by the names of Takashi and Mitsukuni, their newly acquired friends from the training camp.

Mitsukuni had met Hikaru first when they had been training as soldier-magicians for three months. There were few people who possessed the ability to use magic. Namahi was one of them, but she had opted out of telling anyone that, choosing to be a simple soldier.

Kaoru and she had met Takashi during a mission simulation where Takashi had acted as the enemy that Kaoru and Namahi had to sneak past.

They had all been introduced later, after their training was finished with, and invited the two cousins to come home with them until they were to be deported. Ranka had received word of this and very excitedly agreed to let them all stay in his house.

Ranka grumbled. "We'll see," he muttered under his breath. Namahi shot him a look that told him not to interfere with what she was doing. She had willingly joined the army after all. She knew the dangers.

–

"Namahi!" Tamaki yelled, running into the room of Namahi Marioka. She turned around, looking slightly annoyed with the blonde.

"What, Tamaki?" she asked crossly. Could he not leave her alone for a minute? She understood that Tamaki was the only Kiran Prince and heir to the throne, but honestly! That didn't give him the right to bother herevery minute that he deemed fit.

"What're you doing?" He plopped himself down on the bed next to the suitcase that Namahi was stuffing her clothing and belongings in.

"Packing," she replied, jaw set in annoyance.

"Why?"

Namahi brace her hands against the sides of her suitcase, turning her head to look at her friend. "Tamaki, have you forgotten?"

"Eh?"

"Army. Barracks. Tomorrow. Ringing any bells?"

Tamaki's mouth formed an 'O' of understanding. "Right. But Namahi! What if you get hurt?!"

She rolled his eyes and scooped up a black blanket. He'd asked this question when she first told him she was joining the army. "I've been trained, Tamaki. I doubt anything relatively harmful will happen to me," she muttered. _'Not to mention my witch-half will kick in if I do get injured,' _she added in her mind dryly. But, Tamaki didn't know that. "Besides. Hikaru and Kaoru are going with me. Not to mention Takashi and Mitsukuni, if I'm not mistaken?"

"What?!" he yelled, "Are all my friends leaving me for the army?!"

"It's merely to protect your future kingdom, Your Highness," Namahi stated with slight sarcasm that flew straight over the young Prince's head. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. The idiotic prince still had so much to learn before he could takeover for King Yuzuru.

–

**A/N: I actually struggled to make this at least 7 pages. Gaah. The filler part of my brain isn't working very well lately is it?**

**Anyway, sorry for the wait. I struggled through writers block a bit with this one. Main plot comes into view next chapter. Starting with her assignment, oh boy. That should be fun! And now I'm going to scuttle off to bed and take a well deserved sleep, thank you. **

**Review please. Because I know you love getting those Kudos as much as I love giving them out! **

**Speaking of which. Kudos to Kiriyu-chan for being the ONLY reviewer for the prologue. Like... 10 times the normal amount of Kudos. It's all because of her that I'm even continuing this. AND she got the fact that Haruhi was the princess right. Kudos also to my lovely editor/beta Koharu Veddette. **


	3. 2: Battlefield

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 2 – Battlefield_

"Privates Namahi Marioka, Hikaru Hitachiin, and Kaoru Hitachiin!" Roll call was proceeding. Soon, everyone would have their missions. The twins and Namahi all strode forward with ease, ducking into their commanding officer's tent.

"Sir!" they said strongly in unison, saluting and standing at attention.

"At ease," General Fusawa muttered, "You three are familiar with Sergeant Wari I presume?"

The three nodded, Namahi suppressing a groan of irritation. Sergeant Wari was known among all the soldiers as, frankly put, a pain in the ass son of a bitch. He was a stubborn mule among rigid obedient officers. He was one of the only ones that would dare to oppose the general. He was one of the only superior officers that she absolutely couldn't stand.

"For this mission, he's your commanding officer." She glanced to her right at the twins. Both of them featured looks of utter distaste on their faces that mirrored the one that she was holding back.

"And the mission is?" she asked hesitantly. General Fusawa smiled, a sight that was almost scary due to the scar that obstructed his mouth, making it look more like a sneer.

"You're to sneak behind the enemy and infiltrate the town of Ronera, which is close to the castle. From there, Hikaru, you and Private Mitsukuni Hanizuka will be putting up a wall of magical energy, the main wizards back at camp will be able to access it and transport part of the army to that exact spot."

Hikaru nodded in acknowledgment, quite glad that he was to work with Mitsukuni and not a magician that he wasn't familiar with.

"Namahi and Kaoru will sneak into the outer walls of the castle and try to draw a map for us of the inner workings so we may use it later. Kaoru, you will bring this information back to camp while Namahi remains behind to act as a spy."

Namahi's eyes widened. What?! Spy?! Had the General gone mad?! She coughed loudly. "Why, exactly, was I chosen for this particular mission?" she asked, slightly apprehensive about the answer. She was pretty sure she remembered something about The Witch having contacts inside the castle walls, not to mention the fact that certain Narians might see straight through the ploy she was to present. Her secret would be utterly screwed if she was discovered to be the lost Moradian Princess.

"You think on your feet, Marioka. Quit wits are the good makings of a spy, not to mention an uncanny ability to blend into your surroundings. I saw you during that co-op training mission 4 months ago. Frankly, I'm impressed. You could easily make your way up to Corporal or Sergeant that way."

Though the flattery from her superior should have made her feel incredibly privileged, it did nothing but make her stomach churn painfully with anxiety. Spying was not what she had signed up for.

"Any questions?" he asked the three privates standing in front of him. "No? Good. You'll be wearing your uniforms up until the point that Kaoru is sent back. Then I request that Namahi change into a suitable outfit to act as a Narian aristocrat. You'll all be given fake names, particularly Marioka. They will be your Narian names, should you be caught give them that name and not your rank or your real name. Understood?"

"Yessir!"

"Great. Hikaru, you're to be Hideki Karo. Kaoru, Kane Karo. Namahi, Hanaru Fujinara. Don't forget it. You'll be leaving at dawn. Dismissed!"

Hikaru, Kaoru, and Namahi all saluted the General and turned to retreat out of the tent. Namahi found it rather amusing that her fake Narian name was incredibly close to the name she had as the Moradian Princess.

–

"Is the General crazy?!" she ranted in hers and the twins' tent later that night. "I mean, shit, I'm not _that _made for spying."

Hikaru and Kaoru shifted uncomfortably a bit. "You could have turned him down," Hikaru muttered, brows furrowing in a frown. "Namahi, this could be bad. I doubt any Narians will recognize you as the little baby girl they were supposed to kill 20 years ago..." he trailed off, letting his twin picked up like they had so often done in the past.

"But... Well, The Witch would notice right off the bat. What if you run into her? And what about the King? If you're captured... Namahi, there's no way that they'll let you go," Kaoru murmured, staring her in the eye.

"Go back to the General and turn down the mission," they stated together. She snorted loudly.

"And what do you think he would do then? What use would I be?" She paused, contemplating her other possibilities. "You know my archery skills are absolute crap. If I show my witch side, that'll just be a dead giveaway. Spying _is _the only thing that I'm good for besides hand-on-hand combat and I doubt he'll send me to the front lines to battle the Narian army head on when my spy skills are much more useful to us."

Now, she realized, she _wanted _this mission. It was an adventure. Something she craved. The little 'adventures' she'd had in the palace with the twins and Tamaki when she was a kid were nothing compared to fully-planned-anything-could-go-wrong army ones. And her spy abilities _were _top notch as the General had said, after all, her ability to blend in had kept her alive and her secret safe all these years.

The twins, were strangely silent, thinking themselves. Finally, Hikaru huffed. "Fine. If you get yourself caught, the Prince and your father will be downright pissed with us though."

"I won't get caught," she grumbled, "Lords, how do you think that I kept my secret safe so long?"

–

At dawn, Namahi was woken by a sharp jab in her back. She groaned and rolled over. "Princess!" Hikaru hissed in a low voice. He only ever used that nickname when he was sure they were alone. When he was sure that no one could be listening. "Get up! You need to get ready!"

She turned her head to glare at his grinning face. His twin's identical one appeared a moment later through the flap in the tent. "Alright," she moaned, "Get out." Hikaru ducked out of the tent, shoving his brother. They took up positions outside, guarding it. All she could see was their shadows through the thin fabric. She moved quickly, knowing they wouldn't stay there for more than a minute or two as to not look too suspicious.

She pulled off her night-shirt, taking the cloth length in her hands and wrapping it around her, yanking it tightly, almost painfully, around her chest and tying it off in a knot. She grabbed a nearby spoon and used it as a mirror, checking to make sure she had flattened herself down enough. Once she was satisfied she pulled her uniform shirt on, buttoning it up quickly.

The tight breeches were pulled on after her pajama pants were yanked off. She buttoned them and pulled on her socks and boots. Her chest ached slightly, she ignored it, snatching up her coat and the bag she had packed the night before and heading out of the tent where the twins were waiting for her in the sun that was barely breaking over the mountains in the distance.

Dawn. Just as they had been instructed.

They stopped by the infirmary on the way for a final check-up and to receive their bit of battlefield medicine. Then, the kitchen to grab some bread to add to their packs for the road as well as a light breakfast.

They met up with Takashi, Mitsukuni, and Sergeant Wari just outside the camp. "Ready to get this show on the road?" Hikaru asked with a huge grin. Wari remained emotionless, causing Namahi to roll her eyes inwardly.

Mitsukuni matched his smile as did Kaoru.

Time to trick some Narians.

–

It took a good two hours of walking before they could hear the sounds of the front lines faintly in the distance. Namahi's stomach twisted uncomfortably in her stomach. The sounds of war weren't pleasant. Even with the armor they were given, swords and arrows still pierced through people, creating harsh screams of agony. The cries of Narian and Kiran soldiers all blended together into one bloodstained shriek on the battlefield.

But that was in the distance. And thankfully, they wouldn't have to get as close as to see the bloodshed that was going on down there. In her mind, she imagined what the battlefield currently looked like. Fallen bodies on the ground, blood staining the grass. Fierce, violent expressions from Kirans and Narians alike.

Although it was probably an exaggeration, the image still made her shudder. Why couldn't there just be _peace_? Even a tense peace with no guarantee that it would last very long would be better than the current mindless bloodshed.

The small troop of soldiers turned north, planning to sneak through the Wajima forest that wasn't heavily guarded by border patrols due to the wild beasts that tended to be active during the night. To avoid the beasts and the troops they'd have to be quick but careful when going through the forest. They didn't want to get caught in there at night.

Namahi was in a sour mood. The last time she had been anywhere near this forest had been 3 years ago when she was traveling with her father to a small village nearby.

Wari stopped his little party. "Alright you five. It'll take roughly 6 hours to get through the forest, but we'll have to keep walking. We _don't _want to be caught in when night falls. After that, it's basically a straight walk to southeast to Ronera. Keep on your toes and if you see any enemy soldiers, whistle twice and duck behind the nearest tree. If someone gets caught, make a break for it. Got it?"

"Yessir!" the five subordinates saluted. Wari nodded and turned on his heel, motioning them forward. They all squatted slightly and scurried, keeping low to the underbrush. They saw no soldiers and within moments they were under the cover of the trees.

–

When the edge of the forest was in sight, they stopped for lunch under a large tree. The small troop was completely quiet, not wanting to attract attention to themselves.

As such, Mitsukuni and Takashi, who had insisted that they be called Hunny and Mori, were keeping watch just in case. After they were done eating, Hikaru and Kaoru would be taking over so the two cousins could eat something.

The twins seemed to have a hard time keeping quiet, thus they kept sending silent, meaningless signals to Namahi. She glared at them after about the 5th one, noticing Sergeant Wari narrow his eyes at them suspiciously. Like he thought they weren't worthy of being on this mission. He was so damn full of himself.

"Oi, Namahi," Hikaru whispered, tossing her another bit of bread. "Take that. You look like you need it." He winked. She rolled her eyes and took it, choosing to store it with the rest of her food in her bag.

He and his twin both stood and clapped Mori and Hunny on the back, signaling that they could sit down to eat. After Namahi finished off the block of cheese she was holding she stood too. No sooner had she than something made a whizzing sound.

Said whizzing sound was followed by a sharp pain in her side. She gasped, reaching down reflexively. Sticking out of her was the end of an arrow. "Dammit," she hissed while Hikaru and Kaoru stared at her. "Move it! Run!"

She collapsed back against the tree she'd been sitting against moments ago. Hikaru placed a hand on her forehead and whispered a few inaudible words before drawing his sword like the others had. "I'm sorry, Princess," he breathed, "Be safe. That charm should protect you."

She nodded and gasped again as a sharp pain spasmed through her wounded side. "Go!" she growled. He nodded and ran after the rest of his team. She'd be damned if her entire team was brought down because she was injured. Should she be captured and killed, that was sad. Her father and Tamaki would be distressed. But if it meant that her colleagues would escape, she'd gladly do it.

She heard shouts moments later. Shouts in the Narian dialect. "_Fraft femth! Malwe fitg iet odedwou tonerpri!_" She wanted to kick herself for not being able to move. She vaguely understood Narian. All she could do was hope that they wouldn't catch the others like the officer commanding his subordinates was telling them to do.

As promised by the shouts, three Narian soldiers appeared in front of her after a few minutes. Her thoughts were becoming disoriented quickly. The pain was becoming almost unbearable now that the initial shock was wearing off.

She stared up at them blearily, gripping the arrow the had pierced through her armor straight into her flesh. Two swords and a bow and arrow were now trained on her but she ignored this fact.

She had to get that blasted arrow out. If she didn't, her witch healing wouldn't be able to close up the injury. If that couldn't happen, then she'd most likely end up dying. "Don't move," one of the three hissed.

Namahi, again, ignored them, and pushed herself up. Bracing herself, she yanked as hard as she could outward with the hand that was holding onto the end of the arrow. Her teeth clenched. "I said, don't move!"

She stopped pulling for a moment, glaring up at the bloody Narians standing over her. "If you think I'm a threat, shoot me," she growled crossly. "I'm merely trying to get the bloody arrow out of my side."

Whichever one it was fell silent. She went back to work. _'This would be so much easier if the stupid thing had gone straight through,' _she thought, letting out a hiss of pain as she pulled. She could feel it sliding. It was slow, but it was progress.

"Dammit," she muttered, feeling incredibly lightheaded. Obviously, Namahi Marioka couldn't get the arrow out by herself. Her arm slackened. She was going to die. She was going to die because these Narian _bastards _weren't going to bother helping her. She brought her head back against the tree trunk in defeat.

And here she'd had such confidence in completing this mission successfully.

"Stupid... Narian... Bastards," she gasped as something came down sharply on her head, knocking her out instantly.

–

The Third Narian Prince scoffed lightly. It was his duty as Prince to interrogate and keep track of prisoners of war. It was a gruesome job, which was probably why he had been set as the one to do it. Now, as he walked toward the dungeon that would carry him to the place where a prisoner with an arrow in his side was residing, probably dying, he couldn't help thinking how bittersweet his position was.

Sure, he got whatever the hell it was that he desired. But he had to deal with snooty Kiran prisoners, too. And he wouldn't have the opportunity to take over the throne from his father. Unlike the blasted Kiran Prince, he had two brothers that would have to die before he'd ever gain control of the throne that he wanted so desperately.

He kicked a loose pebble down the stone floor of the hall, listening as it made unpleasant, echoing cracks all the way down until it's momentum slowed enough to make it come to a rolling stop. Finally, he was presented with the cell that was holding his victim.

He hated using methods of torture, but more often then not the damn stubborn mules that were Kiran soldiers forced him to use them. Hell, he hated the war itself even though it was his country that kept on dragging it on. He hoped that today would be a good, torture-free day.

The cell door opened and he strode in, looking down at the unconscious soldier in Kiran uniform. He just stared at him for the longest time, dumbstruck by what he was seeing.

Had the Kiran army finally _lost it_? Were they that desperate that they'd start recruiting _women_ as soldiers? Spies even? He mentally shook himself at the absurdity of it all. Sitting in front of him, slumped against the wall, was a _woman _in the Kiran's tan overcoat and black pants. A bloodstain was visible on her side, the arrow having been removed when she had first been brought here.

She was breathing raggedly. She'd live, but only after some immense pain and a bit more blood-loss.

But, honestly. Kira must be at their wits end if they were recruiting women.

Unless... Perhaps she had pretended to be a man so she could _join _the bloodbath that was the battlefields on her own free will?

He could already tell, this was going to be the most fun he'd had with an interrogation in a while.

–

_'How the hell did I get wrapped up in this?' _she thought, angry with herself as she blinked up at the man standing above her. He squatted down so that he was peering into her face. What the hell was she doing here? What had happened? Her head hurt, her side burned. Just about every part of her was screaming in pain.

"Now then, what's your name?" he asked in a rough, hard voice. She stared at him. What _was _her name?

_'Haruhi Fujioka,'_ her mind supplied. No, that was her _real_, real name. Her female name. Her princess name. That wasn't the name he was expecting. That wasn't a name that she should use anywhere.

_'Namahi Marioka?' _No, that was her Kiran name. This man was definitely Narian. He was the enemy. He would recognize her Kiran name immediately. But wait, this meant she was a prisoner of war. He already knew she was Kiran. If she wanted to live, she'd have to tell him something other than that.

What had been her codename if she were caught? What had the General said? She blinked wearily, focusing on remembering. Oh, that's right. "Hanaru Fujinara," she mumbled. Her voice was scratchy like her throat. She felt like she'd been bludgeoned half to death. Then again, she was part witch. Half of the pain was probably from the automatic healing process her body was going through.

"Is that so?" the guy murmured, "And what, may I ask, are you doing here? Are you a Kiran spy?"

She groaned slightly. He was really making her think hard to remember. "No... I'm not a spy. I'm merely a soldier. I don't even remember what happened to me," 'Hanaru' muttered, bringing a hand to her head. She rubbed her temples. She was just telling lies now. Making it up as she went.

"What were you doing sneaking past enemy lines if it wasn't for a spy mission?"

She glared at him. "How am I supposed to know? I told you, I don't remember anything. For all I know I'm not even a soldier. All I know, is that, the last thing I remember is getting shot by one of those bloody arrows and getting conked over the head. I don't know where I was, or what I was doing."

He rolled his eyes. "You Kirans are such bad liars," he spat, "Tell me the truth, dammit. I'd hate to bloody my hands today." As if to make a point he pulled out a knife. "I could easily used this to peel the skin off your body," he hinted vaguely.

She glanced at the knife apprehensively. Her mind quickly came up with a story though it made her head ache to do so. She doubted it would be believable but she was desperate to live. "Fine," she muttered, "I'm a Kiran. I'm a soldier of the army and I was originally assigned as a spy. Happy?"

A smirk lit up his face. This was going to be easier than he thought. "Getting there," he murmured, "What were you sent for?"

"Just... general spying. Not on anything in particular." He stayed silent, contemplating her with an odd expression on his face that made her feel uncomfortable. "I... I had other motives for coming on this mission." She was about to lie through her teeth.

"And those motives would be?" he asked, skeptical.

"It's true that I was originally a Kiran spy. But, Kiran officials killed my sister and my mother several years ago. I don't feel I can trust them. I'd like to offer my support to the Narian army as a spy to the empire." These words would make her a traitor if he accepted them as the truth. The first thing drilled into soldiers during boot camp was never to betray your country. You'd die before doing anything of the sort. As if to support this point, her side started throbbing with almost unbearable pain. She shifted, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment and grunting.

He stared at her. That was unexpected, yet interesting. She probably was lying to save her own skin. It was a believable story, but it didn't explain why she had been captured while sneaking through the Wajima forest with a small troop of soldiers.

"Do you have any clue who I am?" he asked suddenly, that contemplative look still on his face. If she knew who she was lying it would probably sober her up quite a bit.

"No. Should I?" she replied, voice filled with strained politeness.

He snorted. "I'm the Third Prince of the Narian Empire," he stated, "Now tell me the truth or I'll have to kill you, regardless of the desire to join _our _army that you claim to harbor." He purposely made his voice cold.

Tamaki had been right. The Prince was cold. A cold-hearted bastard. She banished all her guilt of lying and stared into his eyes with as much focus as she could manage. "I'm telling the truth, Your Highness," she said softly, wincing and clutching her wound, "Kill me if you must but the blood will be on your hands."

"If you're telling the truth then why were you with five other Kiran soldiers?"

"For Pete's sake!" she exclaimed, "I was sent on a mission! Being a Kiran soldier is a cover so I won't be suspected back home! Of course I'd be accompanied!"

"Spies," he retorted coolly, "don't need escorts. They get themselves in, spy, and get themselves out. If the others were with you then they must have been on a mission too."

She pursed her lips. Her dislike for this person was growing more with every word that he spoke.

"What was _their _mission?"

"Since you seem to know everything, ask them yourself," she grumbled, glaring at him. She was being arrogant. But this might just be a chance for her to find out if they had escaped.

His jaw tightened. "They escaped," he growled under his breath. Inwardly, she was relieved. Outwardly she kept her face level, if not a bit pained. "Friends of yours?"

"Just the team assigned to me," she replied. "Outside of that, they have no connection to me at all."

"What was their mission?"

"I wasn't informed. They were merely traveling with me," she lied. He noticed. The knife he had threatened her with earlier flickered back into view and the glasses on his face flashed dangerously. She closed her eyes and swallowed, feigning thought. She was in for it if she got her colleagues killed by speaking. "I think, I heard something about a magical barrier to transport troops." She opened her eyes.

His eyes widened slightly. That was not good. Not good at all. "Where?" he demanded.

"I... I don't know. I honestly don't." She forced everything out of her voice that might give away the fact that she was lying. "Somewhere near the palace I think."

He stood abruptly and turned to a guard. "_Odse au putsc ot mla bgesvill oda jescit brne iet bicepal. Purtrep jioussupic jocalmag jevityact dikba ot tem ro rym ierfat_."

Shit, she may as well just have killed her friends. All villages near the palace? Ronera definitely fell in that category. The burning in her side increased, most likely from her witch half healing it up.

"_Desy Vryo Inesshig!_" the guard saluted.

The Prince turned back to her. "You may have just prove useful as a spy if you're right," he murmured with a wild smirk.

"I am," she replied softly, "Trust me."

He let out a short bark of laughter. This was the closest they'd gotten to any of the enemy plans in the last four years. Slowly, he reached down and grasped her hand, pulling her to her feet. He steadied her and shook her hand. "Narian Prince Kyoya Ohtori," he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you Hanaru Fujinara."

She nodded, her head spinning momentarily as she focused on where it hurt. Slight burning reached those areas before the pain disappeared completely. "Same to you, Your Highness."

–

**A/N: And Kyoya has makes his grand entrance. **

**Narian dialect's completely made up. As the Moradian one will be. The regular stuff that they speak to each other is a common language between all three nations. The dialects are the only thing that're unique. Kira's dialect is the common one. I _think _you can easily guess what is said by the Narians by Haruhi's thoughts on it. Tell me if it's confusing. I may just cut it out. **

**I tried to get this finished in time to post it for my birthday which was on Thursday. Obviously, I failed. But better late than never right? And now I bring this to you when I'm shivering with a fever and spinning with a headache. My dad gave me bronchitis for my birthday isn't it great? **

**Kudos to SisterFriend, derderxp, NightShroud, Kiriyu-chan, and Koharu Veddette! **


	4. 3: Returning Worries

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 3 – Returning Worries _

Hanaru was worried. Horribly, terribly worried. And all she could do was sit in the Narian dungeon and hope that her friends had left Ronera before the scouts got there. It would save her life if they were there, but it would save all of them if they were gone already, leaving only the transport barrier.

After Kyoya had introduced himself he'd left her, ordering the guards to keep her healthy. It was true that they'd kept her well fed, but worry gnawed at her stomach so much that she could hardly eat. The Prince noticed when he returned. "Something wrong, Hanaru?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"You haven't eaten much," he murmured, picking up the half-eaten loaf of bread as if to make a point. "Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, "I just don't have much of an appetite."

He stared at her curiously before letting out a soft sigh. "Well, you'll be glad to know that we found the magical barrier you were talking about in Ronera."

She feigned relief. "That's great. I guess that means you trust me."

He nodded once. "You'll be moved into a guest room in the palace so you can heal before you're sent back to Kira on a spying mission," he stated. "I suppose we're lucky that we captured the one Kiran soldier who absolutely despises his country."

"Even luckier that you actually listened," she muttered under her breath. He smirked wistfully.

"Yes, I suppose that's correct too," he murmured. As she heard the tone of his voice, she had to ask herself, as she had with every other male she'd ever come in contact with, _would this be the man that would turn her into a murderer? _He couldn't know that she was a female though could he?

Quickly, she did a mental check of herself. She'd acted like a soldier. She was covered. There wasn't a single thing that would signal to him that she was a girl. And he hadn't shown any sign of knowing. No, she assured herself, Prince Kyoya did not know of her identity.

She gripped her side subconsciously. His eyes shot to where she was moving. "Still hurt?"

She nodded though it didn't really hurt all that much anymore. Her witch half had taken care of that. "An arrow wound hardly heals quickly, Your Highness," she said softly, holding his gaze with hers steadily. He smiled.

"I'm quite surprised that it didn't kill you. Normally Narian archers shoot to kill. Do you happen to possess healing abilities?"

She did. But she wasn't going to tell him that she did. It would only give him more clues to her identity. "I don't," she muttered the lie with ease, "I've always been a quick healer though." He narrowed his eyes slightly. Had she given something away?

Eventually, he nodded in thought and offered his hand. She took it. "Come. I'll take you to your chambers." He pulled her to her feet. Hanaru wobbled slightly, almost falling back to the ground before he caught her.

"Still dizzy," she grumbled as he looped an arm around her waist to keep her upright. He just smirked in reply.

–

Somehow, after traveling up more stairs than she could count and through numerous halls, they came to a stop in front of a guest chamber. Hanaru was thoroughly confused as to where she was. It seemed like they'd turned around and backtracked more than once. She_ thought _they were in the third floor. It was slightly amusing to her how huge this place was – how many people it could potentially hold – when there were people lying homeless on the streets just outside the palace walls.

Kyoya, noticing her smile, rose an inquiring eyebrow. She shook her head. "I think I lost count of how many turns we made somewhere around 20," she muttered under her breath, "Where, may I ask, are we?"

He actually had to think for a moment before replying, calculating in his head quickly. "Third floor corridor in the west wing," he replied swiftly. Hanaru shook her head in amazement.

"I won't be able to find a single place," she grumbled to herself.

"You won't need to. A servant will bring food at meal times and there's a bathroom adjoined to this particular room."

She blanched. Did prisoners – _No_, she corrected herself, _soldiers_ – always get this kind of special treatment by the Third Prince? Maybe her initial judgment of Narians had been a bit harsh. He made a noise that was half-way between a snort and a laugh. "Soldiers," he answered her unspoken question, "are only treated specially when they're special cases. Such as yourself."

What the hell was he? A mind-reader? A wizard? Were there half-witch-wizard-_whatever_ royalty out there other than herself?

She could do nothing but stare at him with her mouth slightly ajar.

"No, I'm not a wizard or a mind-reader," he added with amusement clear in his voice. He pushed open the door they'd been standing in front of for a good minute or two and helped her inside. "Of course," he said as an afterthought, "Special cases are only special when I deem them to be."

That should have set off some sort of alarm in her mind. There shouldn't be anything special about her in his mind other than the fact that she was a _Kiran _soldier that had, for all extensive purpose turned Narian. But for some reason, it calmed her.

"What is it that makes me so special?" she inquired suspiciously as she sat herself down on the rather luxurious bed.

"Originally a Kiran soldier who spilled the plans of an entire team's plot with only the slightest threat of torture? A Kiran soldier who readily admitted to being a traitor to his country and _in fact _offered his help to those that should be his enemy? _That _is a special case, Hanaru. So special of a case that I've never seen one like it," he explained thoroughly enough. In his mind he also added the fact that she was a girl in disguise as a male spy to the list but kept it to himself. It would probably only put her on her further onto her already skittish guard.

Why was she so incredibly skittish though? Maybe it was because if Kira ever found out about her treachery she'd be executed without trial. And, on the opposing side, if she ever betrayed Nari she would meet the same fate here.

Hanaru, however, was thinking much different things. As to how the _hell _Kyoya had managed to read her so easily. Here, she'd thought that she had a very carefully placed mask up on her face. One that was difficult to see through. But he'd dissected it in 5 seconds flat. It was unnerving to her. At that rate he'd probably know she was a girl by the time she left for Kira, and that she was the lost Moradian Princess by the time she came back.

Oh _fuck _that was such a scary thought.

She didn't reply to his explanation, seeing it better to keep her stupid mouth shut.

–

"_Kai sha so thra et nut soipa sha meir sark martla lut_," she whispered the old Moradian prayer that her father had taught her under her breath as she settled into her bed for the night. She'd kept her chest bound, just in case.

Kyoya had excused himself saying that he had other prisoners to _interrogate_. She shuddered at the word, knowing full well that, that could definitely mean _torture _in another language. He'd also promised to return the next day to check on her.

Was he always so adamant about prisoners, special case or not?

She sighed. The Narian Prince confused her. He always put her on edge. Made her self-conscious. Maybe it was just because his father would kill her if he ever found out who she was. She had no clue, but it made her skittish all the same.

Hell, just being in the damn castle made her skittish.

She had heard some servants talking about how The Witch was coming for another visit in a few days. It seemed that she frequented in her visits to King Yoshio and his royal court. This alone made her even more skittish. Her father's words from when she was six still rang clearly in her ears, _"__You look just like your mother. Which is also why, you _must _avoid The Witch as well. She'll know right off the bat that you're her granddaughter."_

The Witch, though she may be her grandmother, _could not _see her at all. Such event occurring would most certainly bring upon her ultimate doom.

Anxiety clogged Hanaru's throat the more she thought about it. She pushed all thoughts of her possible doom out of her mind and tried to get to sleep. A slight burning started in her side when she turned onto it.

She ignored it, pushing the pain to the back of her mind as well as her former thoughts.

–

"What do you mean that she's missing?!" Ranka yelled, getting the news via Hikaru, who had come to visit him on a short leave from the army. "Do you have any clue what the hell they'll do to her?!"

Hikaru, though struggling with his own worry over his _charge_, tried to console the older man. "I'm sure she's fine. She's probably already escaped from those bastards clutches and is on her way home right now." His voice, much to his irritation trembled a little.

"How?" Haruhi's father asked, anxiety lacing in his voice, "How did this happen?" His poor little girl! All alone in unfamiliar territory!

The older of the Hitachiin twins swallowed. It would probably be better to tell him the truth than some lie that he wouldn't be able to back up later. "We were... ambushed in the Wajima woods. She took an arrow to the side, telling us to run. I placed a protection charm on her before running. I regret leaving her side, Your Highness," he murmured, hanging his head in the face of his King. Ranka's eyes softened slightly, his heart heavy.

"She was injured then. That just liquidizes her chances of survival." His shoulders started shaking with the effort of holding in his misery. His only child. His little girl, given up to the cruel hands of fate.

"She's a strong girl. Not to mention the witch in her will heal the wound right up. Plus, she's quite good at thinking her way out of things. There's a good chance that she'll still come home," Hikaru said quietly, trying to lift the spirits of King Ranka.

"_Sha shrikal hat lai hao gac. _Hikaru! Why did I let her go?"

"_Ishe ie ter fiel Ter Harlen_. No one could of predicted that this would happened," he consoled, patting the older man's back and hoping, just hoping that his Princess was alive and safe at that moment. That, perhaps, the protection charm had taken hold even though it's caster was so far away now.

–

Prince Kyoya had decided against confronting Hanaru about her true gender yet. He certainly didn't want to alarm her further. And he was slightly doubtful of the supposed truth she was telling him. He smirked with amusement when he thought about how utterly on edge she was all the time. It was probably just soldiers' instinct but it was still vastly entertaining.

And then she tried to hide it by pretending like she was easy-going.

There was definitely some secret that she was hiding, he mused, and he was going to find out what it was.

If only he knew the trouble it would potentially get him into.

–

When she woke, Hanaru had absolutely no idea where she was. Thus, she reverted to the basic survival skills of assessing her injuries and her surroundings.

Her side and head both ached weakly. Other than that it seemed like she hadn't pertained any other injuries. Perhaps some minor cuts and bruises, but those were to be expected.

The confusing part was that she was in a bed. _A bed_. Not a dungeon. Not a tree in the woods. _A bed_. In a rather luxurious bedroom that definitely wasn't the one that she inhabited in the Kiran castle. Wait, this was the _Narian _palace, she realized.

Things all came back to her in a rush. Right. She was a Kiran traitor staying in a guest room on the third floor corridor of the west wing of the Narian royal castle. She lifted her head up and dropped in back down on her pillow before groaning and putting a hand over her eyes. She was screwed. So very screwed. "_Sha cirtsay et dir pa sha kartor sha luit garnarbi_," she muttered under her breath.

She reluctantly, pulled herself out of bed, feeling the slight burning of a witch's healing taking place in her side. She lifted up her shirt slightly and touched where she'd been wounded. It was an angry red and it stung where she brushed her fingers. She pulled them back, noticing the red of blood on them. "Damn," she mumbled, picking up a clean rag off her bedside table and wiping off her fingers before pushing it into her injury.

She bit her lip against the pain and concentrated to send her built-in-magic-painkillers to the source of it. It ceased almost immediately, making her sigh softly. A knock sounded on her door a moment later. She looked herself over to make sure everything was covered before calling, "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Prince Kyoya in all his shining glory. "Ah," she murmured, "Good morning, Your Highness."

He nodded, frowning as he noticed her tending to her newly opened wound and strode over to sit on the bed next to her, taking the cloth and pulling it away. She let out a hiss even though it didn't hurt. "_Nnda sowar_," he muttered. "I'll get a nurse."

He stood intending on leaving but was stopped when she caught his arm. "It's alright. I wouldn't want to be a burden." He rose an eyebrow at her but agreed. She was protective of this secret of hers, it seemed.

He sat once more, pressing the cloth in his hand back into her side with complete disregard to the pain it may be causing her. "How long till you think you can head back to Kira?" he asked intently.

She glanced at him then back at her injury. "Three days. Five tops. How long have I been here?"

"Well," he muttered, "you were in the dungeon for a day before I got to you. Then two after that. This is your fourth."

Hanaru bit her lip. She needed to ask about The Witch. How many days would it be until she got here? Surely, she had to be gone before her grandmother got to the Narian palace. If she happened to run into her here she would be dead before she could utter a single word. "Your Highness," she faltered for a moment, the question still forming on her lips, "I've heard that The Witch is coming to visit."

Kyoya nodded. "She is. It would seem that she has business to attend to with my father."

She frowned. "How long until she arrives?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. She really hope she didn't sound too curious or guilty. "Three days. Why?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just have a bit of... bad blood with her," she muttered, turning her eyes away from him and back to the hand that was tending to her wound. His hand. She really shouldn't be letting him do that. Carefully, she pushed his hand away. "I think it's stopped bleeding."

It had. And the burning had started again, much to her displeasure. Weren't witches supposed to go through minimum amounts of pain? Why the hell did a _healing _process have to hurt so damn much? Kyoya nodded, regarding her curiously. She made her face blank.

Regardless of whether she was a special case or not, he seemed to be acting a bit too kind for her liking.

–

"What's this 'bad blood' that you have with The Witch?" Kyoya asked the very next day. Hanaru froze mid stretch. God. Snoopy bastard. Sure it was his responsibility to keep track of _special cases_ but, why did he even care? Was it part of the job description to nose his way into her business?

She sighed with annoyance and continued in her stretch, wincing when her wound protested against the strain. "Is that really any of your business, Your Highness?" she shot the question down with one of her own.

He smirked. "You're my business. Therefore, yes, it is my business."

She scoffed and reached for her toes, sitting on the floor with her legs in front of her. "And if I refuse?"

"I can easily have you arrested, Hanaru," he replied with a wry smile. She shuddered inwardly. Being arrested wasn't on her agenda. She had to be out of this blasted castle before The Witch arrived.

"Well," she muttered, frowning. She opened her mouth again but she was interrupted by a guard scuttling into the room.

"_Vyro Inesshig!_" Kyoya's smirk fell from his face as he turned around.

"_Betwh?_" he snapped coldly. Obviously, the Narian Prince didn't like being interrupted when he was questioning someone. His glare made her shiver, and it wasn't even pointed at her.

The guard faltered at her gaze. "_Fw vghtca ba Sanki tidein iet btlec mlswa_."

Hanaru stared at the guard, eyes wide for a moment. Kaoru? Oh dear God. Please don't let it be Kaoru they caught inside the walls. "Tch," Kyoya growled, "_Mli feb jightr yndo_." Hanaru quickly composed herself as he turned back to her. He pointed at her. "We aren't finished here, Hanaru. I'll be back."

She nodded, anxiety eating away at her insides. _'Please don't let it be Kaoru,' _she thought as the Prince turned on his heel and followed the guard back out.

She hoped that he wouldn't remember anything about their conversation.

–

"Damn Kirans," Kyoya muttered.

"Who was it?" she asked, resting her chin on the knees that were held tightly to her chest.

He snorted. "Says his name is Mana Hitoro. He'll be executed tomorrow as a spy." He said it so casually that it made her frown. She didn't recognize the name, codename or real, but his casualty on the subject of execution unnerved her. That could have been her if she hadn't thought up her story so quickly. "Did you know him?" he asked, seeing her frown.

Hanaru shook her head quickly. "I don't recognize the name, no," she murmured. "He's most likely in a different unit than me." He seemed to have forgotten his earlier question of what her business with The Witch was. Thank God.

He nodded and thankfully, didn't bring up The Witch again.

–

_Two days later..._

"You're sure you're ready for this Hanaru?" Kyoya asked intensely as he walked next to her, leading her down to the main gates of the palace.

"Your Highness, please," she murmured, "I've been trained. I'm completely healed. _Otdo srywo_."

"They may be suspicious once you return," he pointed out.

"I can easily come up with an explanation," she replied, waving her hand. She was dressed in a Narian uniform so she wouldn't be shot at if fellow soldiers spotted her on her way to the border. She'd have to change in a city or in the Wajima forest before she got there.

He snorted. "You seem quite full of yourself."

"I've been a supposedly loyal Kiran for 20 years, Your Highness. I'm about as likely to become a traitor as the Kiran Prince himself for them."

He let out a sigh, nodding absently. "Yes, yes, I suppose you're right," he muttered, "Once you're across the border, I'll expect that you'll go back to your regular routine as a soldier. In two weeks or so you'll return, hopefully with information on enemy plans..."

"Your Highness," she interrupted, "I know what I'm supposed to do."

He ignored her. "Report any findings directly back to me. If you don't return in three weeks I'll assume you've been compromised."

"Prince Kyoya," she stated, stopping in her tracks which brought him to a halt as well. "I know and I'll be fine. _Voy srywo pot dhmu_." They had reached the gates. "I'll see you in two weeks." She stood at attention and saluted him.

"Come back uninjured this time," he replied with a smirk, returning her salute.

"_Desy Vryo Inesshig_," she murmured, turning on her heel and heading out the gates.

–

It seemed that exiting forests would always be bad luck for Namahi.

She was just about to stop for lunch and to change into her Kiran uniform when an arrow shot out of nowhere and lodged itself in the tree near her head. She stared at it a moment before jumping to her feet and rolling behind a tree.

"Narian!" someone hissed right before she was tackled and pinned down. An arm was on her neck. She stared up at the man in Kiran uniform. She didn't recognize him. That definitely didn't help her.

"Stop!" she gasped, "I'm Kiran!"

"Yeah, right!" he spat. She heard other yells. "Trying to sneak in to spy are you?" Other men surrounded them. Bright red hair flashed in her vision.

"Hikaru, Kaoru!" she choked out, staring at the twins. They narrowed their eyes at her while the guy that had her pinned down started shaking her and asking questions.

"Who are you?" he hissed.

Hikaru gasped. "Yora! Get off him!" Kaoru glanced at him and then looked back at her. His eyes widened too. "Namahi!"

"Are you crazy?" Yora asked incredulously.

"Get. Off. Him," they growled in unison. Yora begrudgingly obeyed this time. Namahi gasped and sat up. Hikaru took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Namahi! Your father's going to be relieved! He thinks you're dead!"

"Who the hell is this?" Yora asked angrily.

Namahi snorted and turned to him. "Private Namahi Marioka. Kiran spy," she introduced, saluting.

"Damn, Namahi," Hikaru muttered with a grin.

"You're lucky Hikaru and I were here!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Or Yora would've turned you into toast."

Namahi rolled her eyes. "You have no clue how happy I am to see you two," she stated, smiling at them. "Now, take me to General Fusawa."

"Yessir!" they mock saluted with identical smirks.

–

**A/N: _"Kai sha so thra et nut soipa sha meir sark martla lut" _means "Keep me safe through the night so that I may see morning light." It's something that I was taught as part of a bedtime prayer when I was little. Figured I'd just translate it to Moradian for Haruhi's use. **

"**_Sha cirtsay et dir pa sha kartor sha luit garnarbi" _means "I curse the day that I kissed my life goodbye." Haruhi's not very optimistic is she? **

**The language/dialect/thing is completely made up. As I've stated before. If you can guess my code, I'll give you a lifetime amount of Kudos since I don't really have one myself. At least not for Moradian. Narian has a code, sort of. **

**I'm disappointed. I don't get to give out any Kudos this time. Drop me a review this time will you? Make me happy! **


	5. 4: Playing for Both Teams

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 4 – Playing for Both Teams_

General Fusawa stared at her in disbelief. Absolute nagging disbelief. Of course, she didn't blame him. She _was _supposed to be dead. Surely, Hikaru and Kaoru had told him of what happened in the forest. She shouldn't be alive. She should be dead. Hung from Narian gallows. "You were reported missing in action a week ago, Marioka."

She smirked to cover up her slight anxiety. How would she possibly explain? "And? Just because I was reported as such doesn't mean that I am. Isn't this why you made me a spy? Because I can blend in and disappear at will?"

"You were shot," he stated bluntly, eyes wide with absolute shock.

"Yet here I stand in front of you," she replied curtly.

"How?" he asked skeptically, "How did you get away with a wound like that?"

She snorted. This was what Kyoya had been talking about when he'd said that they'd be suspicious of her. This was what she herself knew that she'd be asked. She thought up a quick story. "I managed to get away from the Narian officials that surrounded the area and onto a nearby farm. I hid in the barn and managed to pull the bloody arrow out and treat the wound it left behind, Sir. After I was fit enough to leave, I changed my clothes and headed toward the castle."

Fusawa narrowed his eyes at her, as did Sergeant Wari. "You know, Marioka, the transport barrier that Hitachiin and Hanizuka put up failed about 24 hours after they finished. It's suspected that Narian wizards found it somehow and tore it down. Know anything about that?"

"Sir," Namahi retorted, "I've lived in Kira all my life. I'm a good friend of Prince Tamaki. My _father _is part of the King's royal court. If you're implying that I might have turned Narian and given away my teams' plans, you're vastly mistaken and I suggest that you go talk to the Prince. You have a spy in your midst. And it isn't me." She was so happy that her voice was full of conviction and didn't give her away. What she said was a deadly lie and she knew it.

The General sighed heavily and stared her in the eye. "If I find out that you had anything to do with the transport barrier destruction, I'll have you hanged for high treason. You hear me, Marioka?" he said with a deadly tone in his voice.

She nodded and saluted. "Yessir!"

"Now, what did you find?"

She closed her eyes in what appeared to be concentration. "Well, I enrolled in the Narian army so I'd be able to get a better look at the plans from the inside. Turns out my division works directly under the Third Prince." It wasn't a complete lie. She _did _work directly under Kyoya. She wasn't a part of a particular division though. And to her knowledge he only interrogated and tortured prisoners of war. She could just tell the truth, but she didn't really want to be hanged either. And the truth would definitely get her killed.

Fusawa looked interested in this. "Really? That's... interesting. Do the other two Princes have their own divisions too?"

"I'm not sure. I only saw my camp before they sent me on a two week long solo ground mission. That's why I'm back here now, Sir. They think I'm on a mission."

"Alright. What about the Third Prince?"

She thought for a moment. "He also interrogates prisoners of war. Three days before I left they caught a Kiran soldier inside the palace walls who said his name was Mana Hitoro."

General Fusawa froze, swallowing slowly. "And what became of him?"

"I don't believe that he gave anything away. Of course, I wasn't at the interrogation and the Prince doesn't speak so freely about it. He seems to dislike that part of his job. I just heard him speaking to one of the Majors about it." Guilt twisted her stomach slightly at the truth-woven lies she was spinning. This would get complicated really quick if either side figured out she was partially lying to them.

"Private, what became of him?"

Namahi swallowed down a lump in her throat. "He... He was publicly hanged the day before I left," she mumbled, hanging her head.

Fusawa braced his arms against the table in front of him, head hanging low in a sign of slight weakness for a moment. "Dammit, Kanri," he muttered under his breath, "Dammit, dammit, dammit."

"Sir," she said softly, "What was he sent for?"

He looked up, eyes laden with sadness. "He was your replacement, Marioka. Corporal Kanri Fusawa, my son," he replied quietly.

Her throat felt clogged for a moment. "I'm sorry, Sir," she murmured.

He sighed. "Never mind that, Namahi. Good job. You're dismissed." He waved his hand, shaking his head.

"Sir?" she asked hesitantly, "Since I just got back... Permission for a 4 day military leave to visit my father? He probably thinks I'm dead, sir." She swallowed. Her poor Dad was probably dying of absolute misery right now.

Hell, knowing him he'd probably already had her funeral.

General Fusawa looked up from his maps and nodded slowly. "Permission granted, Private. I expect you back by noon on the 5th day. Take Privates Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin with you. I never gave them an extended leave and they did a good job."

"Thank you, sir," she murmured, saluting him.

"Now. Get the hell out of my tent." She smiled and turned on her heel, marching out of the tent like an obedient subordinate.

–

"So, Haruhi," Hikaru muttered, throwing an arm over her shoulders as they walked down the deserted road toward their hometown of Miera. Kaoru's arm fell on top of his shortly after.

"How did you _really _get away?" Kaoru continued casually.

"Since we all know that that arrow made it impossible for you to escape," Hikaru finished. Damn them. She covered up her disgruntlement with a smirk. "I myself cast the protection charm on you before I left. You can't tell us that you got away."

She snorted. "One, don't you _wish _it was really like that? And two. Hikaru. It was probably the protection charm that _saved _me," she responded blandly, kicking a pebble down the road only to catch up to it in a few strides to kick it again. They both rose skeptical eyebrows, making her roll her eyes. "Look, it's my business if I'm lying or not. But I wouldn't lie about something like this."

Hikaru and Kaoru grumbled and decided to leave her alone as they walked into the small town of Miera. Back in Nari, she thought that she'd never see this place again when she was in the dungeon. Now, she was standing here and she wasn't sure if this wasn't a dream.

Her face broke out in a grin. "Come on," she muttered, grabbing each twin by the hand and yanking them through the streets until she finally came to a breathless stop in front of the little brown and white house that belonged to her father. She opened the door slowly, peering inside. Her father was looking at a painting of some sort at the kitchen table. His back was to her. Very vaguely she heard sobbing.

Haruhi reached out and touched his shoulder. He jumped and spun around, eyes widening as he took in the sight of her. "G-Ghost," he whispered, proceeding to faint onto the tabletop.

The three young adults sighed in exasperation and pulled Ranka back into sitting position. Hikaru and Kaoru tried to shake him awake while Haruhi just rolled her eyes and went to the back and pulled a bucket of water out of the well. She came back and gracelessly dumped it over his head, making him gasp and splutter. The first thing he saw was the twins.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" he exclaimed, "Did you see her? Did you see my Haruhi's ghost?"

Hikaru snorted. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"She's right behind you," Kaoru added with a grin.

Ranka spun around, wide-eyed. "Dad. Don't pass out again, please," she muttered, taking his hand to hold him steady.

"Ha-Haruhi?"

She nodded. "Yes, Dad. It's me. And I'm not a ghost. I'm alive. Very much alive." For a moment, Ranka Fujioka looked like he was about to faint again. Then, he let out a piercing squeal and grabbed up his daughter in a bone-crushing hug.

"I thought you were dead! I thought I'd never see you again! I thought I'd live out the rest of my life cold and alone!" He sobbed loudly, spinning her around in circles.

She choked as her oxygen supply was cut off. "Dad," she gasping, "Can't... Breathe." He quickly released her, leaving her with her head between her knees trying to breath correctly again. Honestly. She'd only been missing a week. "Please tell me you didn't have my funeral already."

His eyes shifted back and forth. She stared at him in disbelief. "Seriously? _Seriously_? I was only gone a week! _Sha Geir! Te irdays!_" She looked between him and the twins, shaking her head in shame. They clasped their hands behind their backs and drew circles in the dust on the floor with their feet. "Tch... _Irdays! Shutyra Irdays!_" she growled, turning on her heel. "I'm going to see Tamaki. Have fun being idiots."

Protests sounded behind her, all of which she ignored as she ran on her way up to the palace lacing Moradian swears into her muttered rantings under her breath, "_Shybrar! Diarm, sha aish! Ar fidrela! Ubretacal_."

Her Moradian swears ceased as soon as she started seeing people. Moradian wasn't exactly a common language and speaking it outside of her house definitely wouldn't end well for her. The streets were more lively the closer she got to the castle. A market was running on the main road. Fruits and vegetables were laid out in stalls. She knew several of the vendors but kept straight on her path, greeting them as they greeted her. A kindly old woman, whom she recognized as one of her former neighbors, tossed her an apple, cheering, "Nice to see you Namahi! Welcome home!"

Namahi smiled and nodded, "Thank you Mrs. Jurari." She took a crisp bite out of the juicy apple as she continued on her way. Just past the market on the main road were the palace gates. Behind them the castle loomed large and important, identical towers rising up even farther on either side. Like always, she sighed in awe of the architecture before sauntering up to the gates confidently and saluted the guard that was there. "Good day, Romesa!"

"Ahh. Marioka! The Prince 'as been 'n terrible shape lately." To this she frowned. "Worried sick 'bout ya. Thought ya were dead, methinks." She sighed and brought a hand to her head, rubbing her fingers in circles on her temple to make the incoming headache go away.

"Everyone seems to think that," she muttered under her breath, "I was only gone a week though!"

Romesa smiled sheepishly. "'e 'eard the 'itachiins' report 'bout ya gettin' captured and 'e just broke down on spot. Wouldn't come out o' 'is room for days."

Namahi shook her head in disgrace. The men she dealt with in her life. "Thanks, Romesa. I'll take care of him."

"Not a problem."

She smiled at him and slipped through the gates and up the massive amount of stairs through the huge oak front doors. She knew her way through the palace by now. She had, after all, been wandering the corridors of it for 12 years. And she knew exactly where Tamaki would be. Either sitting on the dock by the lake or sulking in his room.

She knocked on his door when she reached it. No answer. She sighed and tried the doorknob. It opened with ease and... Tamaki was no where in sight. She sighed with a frown set on her face. The lake then. But before she could close the door her eyes caught sight of a rather interesting piece of paper lying on his desk. She stared at it curiously for a moment before striding over and picking it up.

It was a map.

A small town on the border between the Eastern Tip that the Narians currently had possession of and Kira called Marcria was circled and several arrows were out in all directions. Another village a bit farther east called Irlot had several other arrows coming from it that swooped around the back of Marcria at a distance that no one would be able to see people coming if soldiers were marching that way.

Her heart froze at this then she covered her mouth with one of her hands, the fingers of her other hand still playing with the corner of the map.

This wasn't a map. It was a _battle plan_.

Tamaki was planning _battles _against Nari for the army. Her sweet innocent Prince was actually taking part in the war. She shook her head. Hadn't he wanted peace? If he had wanted it then why the hell was he looking over battle plans?

Then another thought struck her.

She could stop this. Lives could be saved because she could stop this. She lifted the paper carefully, checking underneath it. Sure enough, there was another map underneath the first. This time with a single territory in Nari circled with the letters _MBI _written next to it. She didn't need to even think to know what that stood for. _Magic Barrier Infiltration. _

Oh Lords. So many lives would be lost if they went through with these. Civilians and soldiers – Narian and Kiran alike.

But she could stop it. She wouldn't let lives be lost when she could do something about it. Slowly a plan began forming in her head as she checked for any other plans on Tamaki's desk and turned on her heel to hurry out to the lake.

–

Tamaki, as expected, was sitting on the dock with his legs drawn to his chest, hugging them, and Namahi almost laughed at the solemn look of depression on his face. She'd never seen him look so serious. Then again, he did think she was dead. "Oi! Idiot Prince!" she called from the end of the dock. He shook his head and turned his face into his knees. She rolled her eyes. He probably was thinking that he was crazy, hearing her voice.

With a soft sigh, she strode down the dock toward him. When she was standing practically in front of him she snapped her fingers in front of where his face was buried in his knees. "Oi! Tamaki! I'm talking to you! You could pay attention you know!"

His body grew rigid for a moment and then, slowly, he lifted his head, a look of pure horror plastered on his face. "N-Namahi? I... I must be dreaming." And then he proceeded to faint, almost falling off the end of the platform in the process.

She rolled her eyes to the sky. He reminded her way too much of her father. "Idiot Prince," she mumbled fondly, sitting herself next to him and leaning forward to scoop some water into her cupped hands. Ungraciously, she dumped said water over the Kiran heir, jolting him from his sleep immediately.

"GHOST!" he screamed, staring at her in terror while pulling his limbs as far from her as he possibly could without falling over the edge.

"Really, Tamaki. You sound like my dad," she muttered, raising a single eyebrow. She was way too used to the Idiot Prince's antics. _'Can I really call him the Idiot Prince after seeing those plans?' _

This sobered him up quite a bit but his voice still quaked with fear when he spoke, "Y-You aren't Namahi. He's dead!"

She simply reached over and smacked him over the head lightly, causing him to flinch. "Would a dead person be able to hit you?" she asked in a bored tone. And that's when the squealing and squeezing the life out of Namahi began.

"How?" he shrieked, "How? You were dead! Or at least we thought you were!"

"Tamaki... Can't... Breathe," she gasped, trying to get herself away from the arms that were currently trying to strangle her to death.

"Sorry!" He released her immediately, leaving her to try to get her breath back as he started blabbering again. "You have to tell me everything! How did you escape? What happened out ther–? Oh! We should have a party!"

She choked at the word party. "_Party? _Are you insane?" she asked incredulously.

"A party!" he confirmed with a nod as he hopped to his feet. "To celebrate my best friend not actually being dead! Welcome home, Namahi!" he added in a cheery tone.

"Tamaki... I don't ne–!"

"Oh nonsense! Everyone needs a party every now and then! And now we have the perfect excuse!"

She heaved a heavy sigh. There was no use arguing with him now that he had the idea in his head. She may as well go through with it. Even if it was absolutely ridiculous to throw a party for someone who had only been missing for a week.

"I'll recruit the twins," she grumbled in consent, springing her royal friend into a frenzy of happy squeals and hugging again.

This was going to be a long four days. And an even longer two weeks.

–

**A/N: _"Shybrar! Diarm, sha aish! Ar fidrela! Ubretacal_." Is "Shit! Dead, my ass! A funeral! Unbelievable!" Oh my... Watch that potty mouth of yours Haruhi! And _Irdays _means Idiots if no one caught that. **

**Major, major, MAJOR Kudos to 43ever and derderxp for making me feel like I'm not just doing this story for myself. Oh and my lovely beta: Koharu Veddette. Without her... I don't think this thing would have gotten up as soon as it did. **

**Struggled with writers block for a while. It was horrible I couldn't even write things for history when I had the information sitting in front of me! And it was like that for a week! **

**This one's a bit shorter than normal, I realize. 6 pages. But if I don't cut it off now then I won't be able to end the next chapter where I want to. Now I'm going to scuttle away and work on my novel since it feels neglected. **


	6. 5: Weeks of Struggle

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 5 – Weeks of Struggle_

She still couldn't believe that Tamaki had talked her into this damn tirade. And he was convinced that they had to court every girl that they came in contact with. This made Namahi more annoyed than anything. Not just because she was a girl but because she _had _to do it because it would be odd if she didn't. A male _not _courting girls at a party was odd. And she would be automatically assumed to be a homosexual, and this she didn't want.

Being seen as a homosexual would definitely _not _encourage males against falling in love with her. And _that _definitely wouldn't do at all. It would completely defeat the purpose of disguising herself as a boy, in fact.

"Namahi! How did you escape?" the girl she was currently dancing with asked, a light blush gracing her cheeks.

Namahi sighed softly, quite annoyed with the constant questions from people, both friends and people that she had just met. "Very carefully and with much avoidance of the blasted Narians that covered practically every inch of forest," she replied smoothly. The girl swooned.

"How brave!"

She loved Tamaki like a brother and she thanked him for throwing a party just for her, but she really couldn't wait for this night to be over.

–

When she finally found the chance to escape the party, if only for a moment, she took it, stepping out on the empty balcony for a few moments of peace in the cool night air. She sighed as she leaned against the railing of the balcony, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Wanting to escape the madness of her life proved more urgent than it seemed. The guilt of all the lies she was currently keeping track of and those that she was probably going to make in the future was bearing down on her shoulders.

"Haruhi?" someone called softly from behind her. She spun around, heart rate increasingly immediately at being called by her Moradian name. She took in familiar amber eyes and red hair. Those that were identical to another.

"Kaoru," she sighed with relief, "You scared the _shybrar_ out of me."

He smiled sheepishly and took a few steps forward, closing the doors that led back to the party behind him. "What're you doing out here?" he asked quietly as he stood next to her. "You'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long."

"I've been thinking," she mumbled, bringing a hand to her chin in thought.

"About?" he prompted.

She bit her lip. Someone had to know the truth before things became even more complicated than they should be. The younger twin was probably the one least likely to overreact as well. Therefore, she made the ultimate decision. "What really happened in Nari."

Kaoru sucked in a sharp breath and let it out slowly. "Alright... Continue."

Namahi swallowed. "You can't tell anyone. Not even Hikaru. If you do it'll get me killed. I just... Need to tell someone the truth before the lies become too much to keep track of."

His eyes widened considerably. "Jesus. That bad?" She nodded solemnly. His hand slipped into hers in a silent promise that he wouldn't speak a word. He squeezed it in a signal for her to continue.

"They caught me," she mumbled, "They _did _catch me and take me to the dungeon. They probably thought that I was going to be hung right after the interrogation. But Prince Kyoya... He... took interest in me."

"Interest _how_?" he muttered with narrowed eyes.

She closed her eyes. "I told him that I hated Kira and soldiers had killed my mother when I was younger. I told him that I wanted to help Nari in the war. And... I told him about the barrier. I didn't say specifically where it was, feigning ignorance." She opened her eyes and stared at him hard. "Is it a bad thing that I wanted to live? To see you, Hikaru, Tamaki, and my father again?"

Kaoru shook his head. "It's not bad, Princess," he murmured, squeezing her hand again. "So...?"

"Kyoya gave me his trust and sent me back here to spy for Nari. He's deemed me to be a '_special case_.' And sent me back." She let out a harsh laugh. "And I fully intended to give him completely false information on Kira's plans. Until I found battle plans that could claim thousands of lives in Tamaki's bedroom." Kaoru's mouth fell open in shock. "Now, I'm going to give him the information that will save more lives. And the same on the Kiran side."

"Like a peace-maker," he concluded, recovering from his shock quickly. She nodded, smiling at him. "That'll be difficult. I hope you realize the risks."

"I do," she mumbled, "It's worth it if I can bring peace to this land in some way after all these years."

"Good luck with that, Haruhi. I'm willing to help if you want it." She nodded in thought.

"I don't want you putting yourself in danger for my sake."

"As your guard, that would be my job," he retorted with a snort. She shook her head and turned away to go back inside where Tamaki was, no doubt, looking for her. "Haruhi." She turned back. "Seriously. I'm not going to let you do this alone. It's my duty to protect you."

"I know. Thank you," she said softly, "But for this, I order you to stay and hold things down over here. If you truly want to protect me, let me dump the full truth on you and you alone. That's all I need."

Kaoru was staring at her, mouth open, when she glanced over at him. "Yes, _Ter Harlen_," he muttered in consent at last. "If you get yourself killed though, your father will have my head." Seconds after those words left Kaoru's mouth his twin slipped through the doors from the ballroom, shutting them closed behind him and taking a deep relieved breath.

"Hikaru?" Namahi said in surprise. His eyes were immediately drawn to where his brother's hand was still clasping hers lightly. She noticed the movement of his eyes and withdrew quickly, her chest clenching a bit. "Something wrong?"

Hikaru stared at her a moment before shaking his head to clear it. "Tamaki's looking for you. He's practically tearing apart the ballroom trying to find you."

"Ah," she muttered, nodding. It would just figure that she would step out of all the chaos inside for a mere five minutes and Tamaki would be turning the entire castle upside down trying to find out where the hell she had gone. "Suppose I should be getting back inside then. I swear, if I have to dance with another girl though..."

Both the twins chuckled, Hikaru seemingly forgetting what he had walked in on. He went on ahead. Kaoru lingered a moment, watching her and then followed slowly. He'd probably stick to her like glue for the next few weeks that she was here for. She shook her head and followed them in.

"Namahi! We thought you'd been kidnapped!"

She sighed. "Tamaki. I'm a soldier. I've been trained in self-defense. Do you really think that I'd get myself kidnapped?"

"Anyone's susceptible to kidnapping!" he cried gallantly. She rolled her eyes. He was completely ridiculous.

"And if I told you that I needed air from your crazy antics?"

His face turned pale and fell, scurrying to a corner to mumble and draw pictures in the dust on the floor. "Namahi's so cruel. Cruel, cruel, cruel. All I did was worry." She ignored him for the moment while the twins went over to laugh and bother him.

–

Seeing as the party had been planned in two days, half of her leave was already gone. Leaving two days for her to spend with her father and Tamaki before she and the twins had to ship themselves back to camp.

From there they'd either be sent on missions or allowed to lounge around camp. But for now, they had two days of bliss left. Days of bliss that were to be filled to the brim with trips to the lake and sneaking around the castle.

Namahi almost felt like she had never left for the army in the first place. That she was still that little girl of a playmate for the little boy of a Kiran Prince all those years ago.

But she knew they weren't children anymore. And the memory of finding those battle plans on the Prince's desk still stayed burned in her memory. Yes, they definitely weren't children anymore. They were at war. To the world, it was Nari versus Kira. To her it was Nari and Kira versus her, in her pursuit for peace.

She kept a close eye on Tamaki those next few days. Watching for when he might go to meetings with his father or a general. But those two days that she was there, he didn't have a single one.

Finally she had to ask him on her last night there, "Tamaki... Why were there battle plans in your room?"

His head shot up, eyes boring into hers sharply. "How did you know that?"

"I... I went to your room in search of you when I first came back. They were lying on the desk. I couldn't help myself."

He nodded, smiling slightly but sadly. Then, he sighed and gazed at her. "My father wishes for me to take part in the war. I cannot refuse him or I risk angering my grandmother. You know how she is. Still mad at him for fraternizing with a woman of a lesser country."

Namahi nodded, understanding completely. His grandmother believed in royalty of pure Kiran heritage. Tamaki was the son of Kiran King Yuzuru Suoh and a Chartonian noblewoman by the name of Anne-Sophie Grantaine. Compared to Kira and Nari, Charton was a lesser country, both in size and wealth. Therefore, Tamaki's grandmother disproved of her grandson actually being the heir even though she had no control over the matter. She was but a retired queen now.

She sighed and looked at him sadly. By his taking part in the war, it meant that she was mostly alone in her fight for peace. She and Kaoru. The others had no knowledge of what was happening. "I go back to camp at dawn tomorrow," she murmured, frowning.

"Do you have to?" he whined, not unlike a child.

She nodded. "You know I do, Tamaki. It's my duty. I was given a four day leave so that you people back here would know I was alive." _'Even if you held a funeral for me after only a week,' _she added darkly. Obviously, she was still a bit ticked at that.

Tamaki scowled. "I could get you a longer leave."

"No. I've stayed long enough. Besides. I think the General might have a mission for me soon."

"Well," he muttered, "Don't die this time, alright?"

She chuckled softly and nodded. "Of course, Your Highness."

–

When morning came and she was reluctant to leave behind her father, who was sobbing uncontrollably while clinging to her while the twin boys were trying to pry her away from him. "Haruhi!" he wailed, "You can't leave your Papa all alone!"

"Dad," she sighed for the millionth time, "They expect me back later this morning. I have to leave!"

"But what if you die on me!"

"I assure you," she murmured, hugging him and closing her eyes, "I will not die and leave you all alone to care for yourself. I'd hate to think what would happen to you if I did." She briefly thought back to his woeful face as he stared at the Moradian royal portrait from when she was just a baby when she had first come home. Yes, she didn't think that he could stand another scare like that.

"You promise?" he pouted, eyes clearing a bit as he embraced his daughter tightly.

"Promise," she whispered, kissing his cheek as he released her.

"_Garbu Litah, sha daementha_," he mumbled, pressing his lips to her forehead in silent farewell as the twins both took her arm and led her toward the door.

"_Fakellder, Faetha_."

–

The next four days at camp were rather uneventful, aside from Sergeant Wari almost walking into the tent she shared with the twins while she was changing. Thank God she'd been mostly clothed by that time and Hikaru and Kaoru had been able to forcefully yank him back out.

And then there was dinner that night. A dinner that General Fusawa had, strangely enough, chosen to have in the mess hall instead of in his tent for once. As did his second in command. They were talking in hushed voices just a few seats from where she and the twins sat with Mori and Hunny, eating in silence.

"Sir, d'you suppose it could work?" the second in command, Lieutenant-General Kari Pike, questioned.

Fusawa snorted. "Of course," he answered just as quietly as his colleague had asked. "The mountains aren't that heavily guarded and if we can manage to capture them that will give us all the more land to work with against Nari."

Pike nodded to himself as her companions started talking amongst themselves. She ate in silence, secretly concentrating on the conversation happening between the higher ups. "So, the south right?"

"Start in the south." He gave a small nod in affirmation, "The north is slightly more protected due to the fact that it's closer to open ground. We can start in the southern end of the mountains and work our way up."

Namahi glanced over at Kaoru, wondering if he were also listening to this. He feigned ignorance and laughed at a joke his twin had told. She turned her ears back to the General but he and Pike had finished talking. She sighed inwardly. Great. Just great. More things to sort of whether to tell or not.

–

She was called back into the General's tent the next day, a day before she was supposed to return to Nari to report to Prince Kyoya. "Yessir!" she saluted, standing at attention.

"At ease, Marioka," he muttered, leaning over a map on the table in front of him. The tent was filled with silence for a minute or two until Fusawa sighed and looked at her. "I'd like to send you back to Nari. See if you can get some grasp on what the enemy has planned for us. And you'll leave immediately. I don't imagine that the mission they think you're on was supposed to be a very long one."

She nodded. "They're expecting me back in a day or two, Sir," she replied curtly. "The journey to the camp over there takes roughly two days."

"Good. You'll be early then. Take enough food for the journey and whatever else you may need. I need some sort of plans, Namahi. We're at threat of losing more than just the Eastern Tip to Nari."

"Yessir!" she muttered.

"You're dismissed. I'm making this one two or three weeks. If you're not back after four I'll assume that they've seen through your ploy."

She nodded again in understanding. "Could you," she broke off, slightly nervous of voicing her request. "Could you send notice to Prince Tamaki then? He thought I was dead after only a week. I'd hate to think what he'd think after three."

"Affirmative. I'll send a messenger to the castle."

"Thank you, Sir," she murmured, saluting once more before turning on her heel and heading out of the tent.

–

Kaoru walked with her out of camp and half a mile down the road seeing as his twin had other duties to attend to back at camp. "You'll tell me of the details once you're back?" he asked cautiously. Almost as if he were afraid that at the ball she'd been lying when she said that she would tell him the sole truth the entire time.

She smiled. "Yes, Kaoru. You'll be the sole protector of the truth."

His smile echoed hers perfectly. "Perfect. I'll be waiting."

"Go back to camp. I'll be fine on my own now," she murmured, stopping and pushing him back down the road. He laughed.

"Trying to get rid of me, Princess?" he asked jokingly.

"Only slightly," she replied with a smirk.

He bowed low and said very softly, "Be safe, _Ter Harlen_."

Namahi allowed herself another smile before she waved farewell and started on her two day journey to the Narian palace.

–

Hanaru tossed a small bundle of parchment on Kyoya's desk. However, she didn't look amused. He looked up. "Hanaru. Wasn't expecting you for another day or so."

"Your damn guards tried to jump me three times on my way up here," she muttered with distaste. "I got shot at five times and almost had a sword plunged through my chest at least once." He smirked.

"Then, they're doing their jobs," he replied, leaning back.

"You could inform them that I'm not the enemy," she spat unhappily. "I don't particularly like having to dodge attacks left and right when I'm trying to do _my _job." His smirk only widened with amusement. She shook her head. "Bastard," she said under her breath.

"Now then, what's this?" he asked, turning his eyes to the parchment in front of him.

"Mana Hitoro. Real name: Corporal Kanri Fusawa. He was sent as a spy in replacement of myself," she murmured, "Can you believe it? I was missing a week and they thought I was dead." She shook her head before continuing, "Married with two children, a daughter and a son." She swallowed. "Son of General Fusawa... my division's leader."

Kyoya's eyes shot up from the papers. "His _son_? He sent his _son _off to spy?" She nodded solemnly. He licked his lips dryly. "What else?"

"Have a map and a quill?" she asked, scratching her head. He looked at her for a moment with a thoughtful look before pushing the parchment he had been previously writing on. It was absent of any ink except for borderlines and cities spread out all over the place. She gave him a scorching look. He should have actually been working on something instead of leaving it blank.

"Well?" he prompted, pushing the quill and ink closer to her.

She sighed softly and took the quill in her hand, dipping it delicately in the ink. She drew the map that she remembered seeing in Tamaki's chambers when she had first returned home, knowing full well this was a betrayal to her country. "I don't know how accurate these are or if they're actually going to use them because they were in Prince Tamaki's bedroom," she mentioned vaguely as she worked.

She circled Marcria and Irlot, filling in all the arrows in between before turning it so Kyoya could see and explaining. "If they use this, they'll be launching an attack on Marcria– which you now rule– and using it as a distraction to move more troops through Irlot and attack Nari from behind." She glanced up, looking at the look of concentration on the Narian Prince's face.

He nodded, frowning. "Instant, countless deaths for Kirans and Narians alike, Your Highness." They stared each other in the eye.

"You're worried about Kiran soldiers safety too," he stated, looking at her curiously.

She started in slight surprise. "Of course I do. My surviving father, though he isn't a soldier, is Kiran. And I do have a few friends in their army." She shut her mouth, not having meant to admit that much, and bowed her head slightly. "I'm concerned whenever there's a possibility for loss of life."

He shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. "I don't think that's it. Soldiers, even ones striving for peace are never that concerned."

She looked away from his intense gaze and stood, striding over to the balcony. "I'm... not your average soldier, Your Highness. As you yourself know," she murmured, her mind back in the bedroom where she had found Tamaki's battle plans

"That, is true," he replied. "Anything else?"

She sighed and nodded, turning back to the desk and bending over it in concentration. Where exactly had that territory been circled on the MBI plan she had seen? Most of the territories looked the same to her. She bit her lip, wracking her brains as the Prince watched her. Hesitantly she pointed at a single Narian territory that she couldn't remember the name of. "This territory. What's it's name?" she mumbled, slightly embarrassed by her lack of Narian geography.

"_Hreeneves_. Is there an attack being planned on it?"

She nodded. "It was either that one or this one here," she murmured, pointing to another one close to _Hreeneves_.

"_Vebl Sassg_," he muttered, frowning once more. "That's close to the castle. How the hell are they going to attack it without taking the territory in front of it first?" He looked at her intently as she blinked for a moment. "And which city, specifically?"

"This particular plan was incomplete. But either _Hreeneves _or _Bevl Sassg_,"

"_Vebl Sassg_," he corrected quickly.

Hanaru nodded impatiently, waving her head. "Right. _Vebl Sassg _or_ Hreeneves _was circled with the letters _M-B-I _next to it. Care to guess what that stands for, Your Highness?" She still tended to screw up when speaking Narian words occasionally, despite her vast knowledge of the language.

"Something with a magic barrier?"

She nodded. "Magic Barrier Infiltration. No specific city was circled. Just the territories. My guess is that Hik-," she cut herself off quickly, pursing her lips briefly. She'd almost given away Hikaru's real name. "_Hideki _and _Michio _may be the ones to set this up as they were the ones that set up the one in Ronera."

His eyes snapped up from where they were gazing at the paper. She looked back with surprise. Had she said something she wasn't supposed to? "Your Highness?"

"You said you didn't know where it was."

"Eh?"

"You said that all you knew was it was somewhere by the castle."

Oh shit. She closed her eyes, thinking quickly back to when she had still been in prison. "You mentioned it when you told me they found it. Back when I was still in prison."

His eyes narrowed with slight suspicion before he relaxed. Inwardly, she let out a sigh of relief. She was safe for now. He shook his head and turned back to the paper. "Back to this."

"No specific city was circled, as I said. Just the territories. I can't even begin to guess where they might try to plant this one."

"Well," he mused, "At least we know some inkling so we can expect it when the time comes." He sat up and leaned forward, chin resting on folded hands.

"I'll be the first to tell you when I find out." She hesitated with her next thought, thinking of the sliver of a plan that she had vaguely overheard the General talking about quietly with the second in command back at dinner. "There's..." she paused, attempting to pull her thoughts together completely, to decipher between what she should and shouldn't tell. "There was something about..."

He was staring at her intently now as she furrowed her brows together in concentration, closing her eyes and raising her face to the ceiling. "I didn't quite understand it since I only caught part of it. But, the southern part of the mountains? Maybe not the south. Might've been the north." She shook her head, turning her eyes back to him. "I don't remember. It was a conversation General Fusawa was having with his second in command," she mumbled.

He shrugged. "That's fine. You've already given quite a deal of information already, Hanaru," he replied with an air of aloofness. She nodded, knowing that she'd specifically feigned memory loss with the conversation. She remembered it clearly. They were planning to seize the southern part of the mountains. If she withheld that, there would be little resistance and fewer loss of life. "Anything else I should be aware of?"

"No, Your Highness," she replied swiftly. "Was there anything else you wanted to know?" she inquired politely. He stood and strode toward her, placing his hands on her shoulders and slowly backing her up against the wall. What was he _doing_? "Y-Your Highness?"

"There is," he said, his voice soft and sounding slightly demented, murderous even, "One more thing that I'd like to know Hanaru. And unfortunately, I'm afraid I might have to torture it out of you." And with that he ducked his head down and smashed his mouth against hers.

Her eyes widened in absolute surprise, her head reflexively jerking to the left away from his lips. She brought a hand to her lips, chest wrenching terribly at something, and stared at him incredulously as he pulled away with a smirk on his face. The only thing going through her head?

_What. The. Hell?_

–

**A/N: Gotta love me and my cliff hangers. And after a 3-week time span between updates for this one, you might be waiting a bit for the next one as well. I seriously need to concentrate on my studies. Especially since I have to work purely from home at the moment due to my current health state. **

**Kudos to 43ver and derderxp. I find it funny that AN is the most popular of all of my current projects. Anyway, review please? :D **


	7. 6: Revealed

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 6 - Revealed_

She stared at him like he'd lost his mind. He... did think she was a boy didn't he? Did that make him...? "I'm not gay, Hanaru," he stated swiftly, reading her thoughts. "As you, very well know." Now, he was just being confusing. She looked at him questioningly. "Honestly," he muttered, swooping to catch her reluctant lips again with his.

She yanked back as she had before. "What the hell?"

"I still don't understand why a _girl _would want to join the army," he murmured, eyes sharp and intent as they looked into hers. Her eyes widened. Shit. She was screwed. Utterly, utterly screwed. Him knowing her true gender was just a step away from knowing her true _identity_.

"H-How...? How long have you known?" she asked in a voice that was an octave higher than her normal one.

He smirked and replied, "Since the moment I first saw you."

She stared at him, mouth slightly open. This was... not good. Not good at all. God, how the hell had she gotten herself wrapped up in this mess in the first place? Oh right, that was her big mouth and the desire not to die. _Stupid Haruhi_. Now, not only was there the risk of him finding out who she was, there was the risk that he'd somehow fall in love with her and turn her into a murderer. _'My day's just going _wonderfully_, isn't it?' _she thought sarcastically, her lips burning as she found herself wrenched away from her thoughts by his lips on hers in a horribly gut-wrenching yet somewhat desirable kiss. Again, she yanked back. "Do you treat all women in this way?" she asked irritably.

"Only ones that don't answer my questions," he answered flippantly, "Why did you join the army if you're a girl?"

"Aren't you prying a bit too much?" she retorted, hedging around the answer to his question. That would only give him more information that he could use against her. _That _would only get him closer to knowing she was the Princess of Mora.

Again, she found that his mouth had sought out and found hers. "Just answer the question, Hanaru. You wouldn't want me to submit you to more _selective _methods of torture, would you?" he whispered, lips close enough to brush hers as he spoke.

She shuddered at the thought of what he could do to her if she gave him the chance. No. She didn't even want him going anywhere near _that_. She swallowed, sure she was going to eat her words later. She opened her mouth, only to close it again seconds later. This earned her another searing, torturous kiss from the Narian Prince.

She shoved him away in annoyance. Honestly, he made it hard to think when he did that. Not because she liked it or anything. But because it was so very easy to be distracted when you find that someone's kissing you senseless. Because _Kyoya _was such a rich Narian bastard that he had stolen her first kiss. And second. And third. And _fourth_. The bastard. And she had a feeling that he _liked _watching her attempt to squirm out of his torturous, seductive hold. "Stop that! I can't think with you kissing me senseless every five seconds!" she spluttered in complete, utter annoyance.

His smirk only grew at this statement. "Oh, but my dear Hanaru, that was the entire point," he drawled lazily. Yes, Kyoya was _definitely _enjoying this way too much.

Her chest wrenched painfully for some reason unknown to her. It just suddenly yanked at something. Like someone had reached their hand inside of her and pulled at her heart. She held in a small gasp at the painful jolt, glaring at him. The pain however, faded quickly. "Arrogant bastard," she muttered under her breath.

"I may be an arrogant bastard but you're talking about a Prince who could have you executed for saying those words," he threatened, eyes flashing dangerously behind expensive spectacles that she was absolutely sure very few people in the kingdom would be able to purchase even if they needed them.

"You wouldn't..." she trailed off, slightly unsure of herself. He might actually. It was _Kyoya _after all. Same as the next sneaky Narian bastard of a prince. He was the one that was currently torturing information out of her in such an indecent manner. _'Then again,' _she told herself in her head, _'I may possibly deserve this. God only knows I've been way too lucky with this secret for the past 20 years.' _

"I would," he said dangerously. He bestowed another kiss on her lips which made it even harder to concentrate on what she was supposed to be answering. God, if he could just stop and let her _think _for a moment. Maybe, _just maybe_, she'd be able to answer him within a timely manner. And _maybe _she'd be able to come up with a reasonable explanation that was as far from the truth as she could manage to get. "I suggest to watch your mouth and answer my question, Hanaru."

She swallowed again. Well, gulped actually. She _really _didn't like the look in his eyes as he hovered in front of, yet slightly over her. Like a vulture looking for it's next meal. Or better yet a lion stalking his prey. "I... I was drafted."

He didn't seem to believe this, however. "So, Kira's started drafted women as well as men?"

She gulped again and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. However, she couldn't think up a story other than the truth. Damn his torture techniques. Damn them that they worked so well on her. She opened her eyes slowly before replying, "No. I was just... hiding in Kira as a man. Therefore I was drafted as a man would be."

His jaw went slack while the one doubtful eyebrow rose. She shoved him away before he even got the chance to kiss what he thought would be the _actual _truth out of her. She swore, one more kiss and she'd probably spill her entire story. Which would lead to her ultimate demise, seeing as she'd get turned into The Witch and his father, they would kill her, blah blah blah. "And why, dare I ask, were you hiding as a male?"

She flashed a quick sarcastic smile. Like hell she was going to tell him that. Only when all hell froze over was she _ever _going to tell him _that _piece of information. Why did he have to use his decidedly good looks on _her_? Couldn't he choose to use them to seduce some maiden into giving him what he wanted? "That... is none of your business."

"You're certain?" he hedged suggestively. God. Who knew that seduction could _even_ be used as a method of torture? Of course. It would only be usable by few people. Unfortunately for her one of those people _had _to be Prince Kyoya. And even more unfortunately, he _had_ to decide to use it on _her_.

"Yes. I am. And I don't care what you do to me, I'm taking this to the grave," she replied with determination. He was _not _going to find out about her royal blood. No. Way. In. Hell.

"We'll see about that," he murmured, eyes flashing dangerously again as he pulled himself away from her.

It was then that it dawned on her how suggestive the position they'd been in just moments ago had been. How _intimate _it was. If a maid, Gods no, had walked in on that... Oh Lords. She would have been even more screwed than if it was only Kyoya who knew. _He _at least wouldn't tell anyone. Or at least she didn't think he would. Maids... Maids had loose tongues.

Haruhi pulled herself away from the wall slowly, eying the Third Prince warily. Like he would swoop in and steal another kiss from her at any moment. What was it about her that made him do that? He could have simply asked. He didn't have to sexually harass her to get the information he wanted. Granted, she'd probably tell him that it was none of his damn business as she had loads of times. But, _really_. Was harassment _really _necessary? And if he told... She shuddered at the thought. "Will you tell?" she asked quietly.

He smirked in amusement for a moment, contemplating thoughtfully. "As long as you prove useful as a spy, I don't see why I should tell anyone," he replied just as softly. She held back at breathing a sigh of relief.

Thank the Gods. She was saved.

There was silence for awhile between them while Hanaru contemplated what she should do now. Should she leave or wait for the Prince to speak? He was suspiciously quiet. Like he was thinking about something. And when Kyoya started thinking it could end very badly for her. As she'd just learned.

So she stood there in silence as he stood over by the balcony, staring out at the view with that contemplative look on his face. She felt a knot in her gut as he turned back to her very slowly. "You're dismissed, by the way."

She let out a low growl that was barely audible to his ears before she turned and left the room. He'd probably want to ask her more personal questions later, knowing him. She just prayed that he didn't remember that she had never answered his inquiries about The Witch on her last visit. And that he wasn't perceptive or intelligent enough to figure out that she had been hiding in Kira because she was the Moradian Princess.

_'Hah. Fat chance of that,' _she snorted sourly in her mind. She'd seen his intelligence at work. And if he had the intuition to know she was a girl just by _looking _at her, she was definitely screwed.

For now, she figured it was better to feign ignorance and come up with better cover stories.

Ones that were as far from the truth as she could possibly manage them to be. Though, he already had an inkling of what her life was like back at home due to the conversations they had already had.

_'Oh Mother,' _she sighed in her head, _'I wish you were still here.' _

–

Just as she thought, Kyoya came to visit her around dinner time when she was still eating. She nibbled on her chunk of bread, eying him anxiously. This newest venture with the method of torture that he had found to use against her just put her on edge more than she had been before.

She rose an eyebrow at him as he came through her bedroom door, shutting it behind him. The corners of her lips turned down slightly in a scowl. "And now I suppose you're expecting me to spill my one and every secret?" she asked with complete sarcasm dripping from her every word.

He smirked in amusement. "I wasn't aware that you were keeping any secrets from me, Hanaru. Care to share?" he retorted smoothly. He grabbed a chair that sat uselessly in the corner for some reason and strode over to where she was eating at her desk. Plopping the chair down next to her, it's seat away from her, he sat, facing her with a leg protruding from either side of the chair and his arms resting on the back of it.

How the hell had she managed to somewhat befriend this assumptive bastard? And his arrogance made her slightly ticked too. "No, I would _not_ like to share. Least of all with someone who could use it against me," she answered coldly, taking off another chunk of bread and dipping it in her soup.

His eyebrows shot up. Shit. That was never a good sign either. "Now you've gotten me curious. What secrets could you possibly have that I would be able to blackmail you with? You seem rather innocent to me, aside from the fact that you're a _girl_."

If there was anything more dangerous than a thinking Kyoya it was a curious one. Dammit.

She snorted and decided to ignore him, choosing to let him ponder while she ate quietly. Wait, letting him think was a bad idea. But how the hell else was she supposed to think herself without leaving him to? Alright... Cover stories.

She made a mental list of all the things she needed to cover quickly. The Witch, why she was posing as a male in Kira, perhaps her relationship with Tamaki. She thought that was it. If something else arose she could just blatantly lie.

Her relationship with Tamaki was easy enough to do. She could tell the truth with that one. He was her friend. She'd known him since she was eight and they'd grown up together. Simple as that.

Her connection to The Witch was simple as well. She'd been cursed because of something that her sister had done. Since she had no sister to speak of that shouldn't be able to lead him to anything close to the truth.

Why she was posing as a male was the one that was tricky to cover-up. She realized now that she could have said that she wanted to prove her family's worth but her father had no son. But she'd already told him something different. No going back on that now. She frowned inwardly, keeping her face carefully blank on the outside. She supposed she'd have to tell him something _else _that was relatively close to the truth. The Witch's curse had forced her to hide. When he asked why she could tell him that she didn't know because her father had never told her.

So that was it. That was her cover story. Pathetic. And so very close to the truth. How the hell was she going to get out of this without getting killed along the way?

She finished off her soup and wiped her mouth with her napkin. She was rather pessimistic about this entire thing that was beginning to unfold.

Kyoya coughed. "Well, Hanaru?" he asked, leaning forward against the back of the chair he was sitting on in amusement, his eyes intent.

"Like I said. Nothing that I'd tell you," she said softly, pushing her tray away from her and turning her gaze to the Narian Prince next to her.

"Come now. Wouldn't want to have to torture it out of you, would I?" he muttered, eyes laughing slightly behind the glare of the glasses on his nose. God. The snoopy _bastard_. A shiver involuntarily ran down her back as he spoke again, "Though, that isn't _completely _undesirable." His eyes twinkled with mirth.

She shuddered, chest clenching some more. It seemed to be doing that a lot lately and all she could do was wonder why. "_That_ is quite unnecessary. It was unnecessary the first time," she growled sharply.

"Was it?" he countered, "Wouldn't you just have come up with an excuse and pushed your way out of it like you have since you've come here?"

She tensed. So he did know she'd been lying. Goddammit. She'd known it was a bad idea to let him time to think and become curious. "Well, then," she muttered, "Since you seem to know all the answers. Care to start your interrogation now?" He smirked and stood, pushing his chair aside so he could lean down and trap her in her chair. She glared up at him. "If you use 'methods of torture' on me again I won't hesitate to smack you like you deserve and like you were any guy. Being _royalty _will get you nowhere with me."

"Really?" he murmured, interest piqued. She nodded, glaring into his eyes calmly. "Well then, perhaps I should just have you hung for defying me."

She couldn't tell whether he was serious or not. The coldness of his voice made her heart freeze over with a slight fear. No, she _was not _afraid of him. And even if she was she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing him. Instead, she stared at him and replied, "You wouldn't do that, Kyoya."

Using only his first name might be strange, but it added a different kind of affect to her words.

His eyebrow rose again. Slowly, he moved away from her and turned his abandoned chair around so he could sit in it properly. "And how do you know that?"

"Because. I saw what learning Corporal Kanri's identity did to you when you realized _you _were the one that killed him." She turned away from him after saying this as softly as she could and walked to her dresser. Much to her annoyance, he followed her, more curious than ever.

"What's your relationship with the Kiran Prince?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him in the mirror, turning so she could do so to his actual person. "Who says there's any relationship at all?"

"You found the battle plans in his room, Hanaru. That constitutes knowing him on a personal level."

Damn her mouth. Damn his memory. Damn this entire situation. "Fine," she muttered, "We're childhood friends. Met when I was eight."

"Your father's an aristocrat then? Or part of the royal court?" She closed her eyes and nodded. "Name?" She glared at him pointedly. "What? Too much?"

"Yes," she mumbled coldly, "I'd rather not let you have the name of one of the only people dear to me."

He nodded in slight understanding. "I can understand that. Protective of your father are you? Is that why you went along with the male charade?" Again she nodded carefully. "And we can't forget your supposedly bad blood with The Witch."

Her blood ran cold on the spot, her fists clenching just at the thought of her grandmother. Because of that woman, that _selfish woman_, her mother was dead, she and her father lived in fear, and she couldn't ever love someone. She faked a story quickly that involved her sister's wrongdoing. "My sister-," she broke off, anger pulsing through her, "My sister did something wrong. Angered her somehow. But she died before The Witch could punish her. So I got the punishment by default. She cursed me." Harsh bitter laughter left her mouth without her control. "Some. Logic."

He was regarding her with a look of completely unfathomable apathy.

"It's not fair," she bit out, teeth gritted. "It's not bloody fair. I didn't do anything. I was four. I hate her, she hates me. End of story. Now, can we move on please? Since you're so intent on learning every single thing about me." She snorted angrily, her rage with The Witch transferring to him.

He was still staring at her with that same look in his eye. "Is the curse the reason that you're hiding as a male?"

"Yes," she growled. God. How the hell did he find ways to torture her just by speaking? First torture by seduction, then torture by language. She had never known what she was so susceptible to the stuff. "Are you finished now?"

He nodded slowly. "For now."

"Good," she spat, "Get out so I can sleep then."

He left without another word.

–

Despite the fact that she didn't particularly like the youngest Narian Prince at that very moment, she still felt compelled to see him later that week. Mainly, to see if there were plans in his room as there had been in Tamaki's. Regardless of which side she was on – which was neither in her honest opinion – she still had to keep some sort of knowledge of plans from both sides.

Problem was... Where the hell were his chambers? She had known exactly where his office was because it wasn't far off of the gate. Well, and her ability to somehow randomly find the right room even when she was preoccupied with dodging attacks and then consoling the attackers that she wasn't the enemy.

It was a simple fact that she had absolutely no clue where she was going. Perhaps because she had never actually been to the Prince's room. Unlike the Kiran palace – which had all the royal chambers stationed in the Eastern wing – it seemed that the Narian one didn't follow the same pattern.

Who was she kidding? She didn't even know how to get back to her own room anymore. And there weren't any servants in sight to ask for guidance.

Just when she was about to throw her hands in the air and sit down, waiting for Kyoya – or anyone – to find her, she heard voices. _Male _voices that she really didn't recognize. "_Qincep _Akito?"

"You heard me perfectly well, _Heantser Korma_. In a few weeks time you will command _Fralgen _Yakamora to launch an attack on Katari on my father's behalf. While the Kirans are obviously distracted by this we can sneak a wizard in and set up a magic barrier like they've been attempting to do. Set it just outside Miera. Assassins can then be sent through to kill the royal family and the royal court."

Hanaru felt her face pale as she heard this from the other side of the corner. _"Kill the royal family and the royal court." _Tamaki... King Yuzuru... and her father... She swallowed, eyes wide, and tuned her ears again while Prince Akito started talking again. "You will keep this secret until the time that I give the order. _Uherfa_ has already agreed to this."

"That's poor warfare etiquette, _Vyro Inesshig_," the Sergeant Major mumbled, wincing at the glare that was shot her way.

"It'll put an end to this godforsaken war and give victory to Nari. That's all that matters," Akito cut in sharply. "_Uherfa _has passed it. Yuiichi is in agreement and most of Father's advisers admit that this is the plan that will bring Nari to greatness. Kyoya is the only one who frowns upon it but his opinion hardly matters."

"_Desy Vyro Inesshig_."

Footsteps were coming her way and she hurriedly looked for a place to hide. She ducked into the first door that she caught sight of, shutting the door behind her until the footsteps faded. Then she covered her mouth and closed her eyes, rethinking what she had just heard in her mind. _"Launch an attack on Katari... Distracted... Sneak in a wizard... Magic Barrier... Just outside Miera... Assassins... Kill the royal family and royal court." _

"I need to get home," she whispered under her breath to herself.

"And why would that be?" a suspicious voice interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes shot open to meet Prince Kyoya's steely gray ones. "Aren't thinking of betraying me are you, Hanaru?"

She shook her head quickly, hiding her surprise rather well she thought. "Of course not, Your Highness," she murmured, gazing around the room. She blinked when she realized that she had been so close to finding his chambers. "I was looking for you actually."

He waved his hand dismissively, staring into her, still slightly pale, face doubtfully. "You could have sent a servant to do that. Why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?"

She swallowed and quickly thought up a lie. "My imagination was overreacting. My father was sickly when I left. Just a bit worried is all," she muttered, hoping against all hope that her voice sounded as confident as she didn't feel at all. The entire conversation that she'd just overheard between Kyoya's brother and his Sergeant Major was still running through her head at amazing speeds that just made her feel slightly sick. So many Kirans would die. Tamaki, her father, and the twins' parents among them.

She blinked a few times when she realized that Kyoya had appeared directly in front of her. "You're sure that's all?" he rumbled, face getting entirely too close to hers for comfort as images from earlier that week flashed through her brain at lightening speed.

"Ohoho. What's this?"

The youngest Ohtori jerked back quickly at the sound of his brother's voice, jaw set. "There's this new invention called _knocking_, Akito," he growled curtly, the slightest hint of a glare glinting on his glasses.

"Who's this, _Utleli Uherbro_? The latest woman you've been _playing around _with?"

Hanaru glared at him indignantly then glanced at Kyoya worriedly. He wasn't about to tell that she was Kiran was he? She searched his face for any sort of clue as to what he would tell his fellow Prince. "Yes, actually. Jealous?" he retorted, sliding over to wrap an arm around her waist.

Akito shrugged, not looking all that interested, though his eyes also glistened with a predatory air. She resisted the urge to shrink away from him though her entire being screamed for her to turn and run the other way. His gaze turned back to his younger brother after giving her what she guessed was supposed to be a seductive look, it just frightened her. "Father wanted to see us and Yuiichi in his chambers immediately."

Kyoya nodded once in acknowledgment and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. She blinked a few times, getting that painful feeling of her heart getting yanked out of her chest again. "I'll be back," he murmured in her ear. She suppressed a shiver, knowing the double meaning of those words. _'We aren't done talking quite yet.'_

–

**A/N: Kudos to BlackestNight BrightestDay (double for guessing correctly that Kyoya knew), Enigmaticrose4, and 43ver. Oh and also to my beta, Koharu Veddette~ **

**I'd... just like to mention... that I have been put back into my wrist brace for my Carpal Tunnel... And it makes it excessively harder to type. GAAH. SUCKS TO MY CT. (LOL. LORD OF THE FLIES REFERENCE?) **

**I apologize for the late late LATE update on this. I was otherwise distracted. But now I have my gears switched from murder mystery to fantasy peace-keeping, kay? I'll _try _to get the next one out sooner than a few weeks. **

**Putting this up right before I head off to a rummage sale for the day. You're lucky that I have an hour break between church and this otherwise, you'd be stuck waiting until tomorrow probably. **


	8. 7: Trust

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 7 - Trust_

"Who is she really?" Akito asked as soon as they were a good ways down the hall. "I know she isn't your lover or girlfriend or whatever. So who is she?"

Kyoya suppressed a growl. His siblings always had to pry into his life didn't they? It didn't matter that he was technically no threat whatsoever to his brothers chances at the throne. They still pried into every single detail. And Fuyumi, she just pushed her way in. She always had good intentions though. Unlike Yuiichi and Akito.

"Stay out of it," he grunted softly.

"She isn't another one of your saved-from-certain-death special cases is she?"

"I said stay out of it."

"You know Father doesn't approve of you saving those damn soldiers. They deserve to die!"

"When was the last time you heard about a female soldier, Akito? Hmm?" he retorted sharply. His older brother was silent next to him. "Exactly. Never. She's not a soldier."

"Who is she then? Must be a commoner. Women of our class don't dress like that. It makes her slightly less appealing, but she seems to be a great girl."

Kyoya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That was just Akito. Judging women by their looks. If he was given then chance he'd probably sleep with Hanaru then throw her away. Disgusting. Though, it was doubtful that she would ever allow him that. "She's not a commoner. Daughter of a lesser aristocrat."

"Oh? Setting your standards a bit lower nowadays?"

"Considering who _you _were with the last few days when you should have been with your wife, I'd watch your mouth. Wouldn't want _Uherfa_ to find out about it, now would you?" Akito fell silent and Kyoya had to hold back a smirk at his brilliant success at quieting his brother.

There weren't any comments on Hanaru for the remainder of the walk to their father's chambers.

–

"Father," the two boys murmured, nodding their heads as they entered their room. Their eldest brother was already present, standing in front of their father who was sitting on his bed. "Yuiichi."

"Akito," Yoshio said, crossing his legs, "Has the _Heantser Korma _been notified of the plan?"

Kyoya stiffened slightly at the very mention of 'the plan' that would kill so many people. He was completely against it. He may have wanted Nari to come out of this war on top. But rendering a country completely powerless by murdering what would probably be about 10 families, wasn't the way to do it.

"Yes Father," Akito replied softly, "He's been informed and it's been set to take place on my command, after you've given the 'Ok' of course."

"And he's aware that means that they must wipe out _all _the families?"

"Yes. When the assassins come back home, there won't be a bit of royal Kiran blood left in that godforsaken country."

The youngest Ohtori suppressed a growl of disapproval, making it out to be a soft grunt instead. Yoshio's eyes were drawn to him after a second of staying on Akito. "Something wrong, Kyoya?" he asked softly, gaze piercing his youngest son.

He stared back at his father coldly. "I still don't agree with this strategy, Father," he admitted quietly after a short silence. Akito glared at him while Yuiichi smiled and shook his head. Yoshio merely rose a single elegant eyebrow. "What are you going to do with the country once the royal court and family are dead? The people won't take kindly to a change in ruling. You can't wipe out an entire race."

"We wiped out Mora before," Akito growled off to his side. Kyoya paid him no mind.

"There has to be a diplomatic solution. Kira's taking high hits. And now that we have some of their land, maybe we can use that to get them to surrender."

Yuiichi stayed quiet, though he had a thoughtful look on his face. Their father merely regarded his third son with a look of apathy. He was quiet for the longest time. Then he spoke, "There are ways to getting people of unwilling countries to cooperate." Kyoya really wanted to glower at the Narian King. He kept a level head though and his face stayed carefully expressionless. "Akito, two and a half weeks from now send the order. That should give time to get a big enough force to take over Katari. Yuiichi, you'll work to get the force together. Kyoya-"

"I request not to have any part in this. I'll continue my duties in the dungeon but I want no part in putting this plan to action," he interrupted quickly.

Yoshio looked at him. "Of course. I'll still require the information that you acquire though. And that spy of yours?"

Both Akito and Yuiichi glanced at him, varying amounts of surprise on either of their faces. Kyoya smirked to himself. "He's returned with some rather interesting information. Shall I drop by to share it with you later?"

Yoshio nodded, his own lips tugging upward slightly. "You're dismissed," he murmured, standing to stride to his closet. All three sons turned to leave. "Except you, Kyoya." The youngest of the three froze and turned back around right at the door. His brothers stayed on route, shutting the door behind them. "What did your spy find?"

"Plans in the Kiran Prince's chambers. Chances are that they'll be used sometime in the near future. He drew them out on a map for me. He isn't that high of a rank but he seems to get information easily enough. Close friend to the Prince too."

"You're sure that he's not about to betray us because of that fact?"

A smirk that closely resembled a smile found it's way onto Kyoya's face. "When he returned to Kira, I had him tailed by another spy. He's confirmed all the plans that Fujinara's given us."

Yoshio's face lit up in a smirk of his own. "Good job. Make sure you keep that tail on him until you can confirm that betrayal isn't likely."

"Yes, Father," Kyoya muttered. He took the words as dismissal and turned on his heel.

–

Hanaru was curled up on his bed asleep when he entered. Unfortunately, someone else was also waiting for him. "Yuiichi," he acknowledged quietly as to not wake the dozing girl.

"When are you planning to tell _Uherfa _that _Kiran_ is your spy?" his eldest Ohtori son asked softly, gazing at his younger brother. "And don't try to deny it."

"She didn't even want anyone to know that she's a girl, Yuiichi," Kyoya muttered, "Of course, all three of us knew on first sight. No one over there knows."

"Doesn't that tell you something then? She's hiding something. And it isn't her gender."

"I know that. I'm trying to uncover it. Just leave it to me. I'll take care of it. And she knows that if she betrays me, I won't hesitate to kill her."

Yuiichi licked his lips dryly. "I assume you don't want Akito or _Uherfa _to know?"

"For the time being."

"Secret's safe with me. Don't expect me to cover your ass for you if you get yourself deep in a hole though."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Yuiichi strode toward the door, pausing momentarily once he had reached it. "One more thing, Kyoya," he said with surprising gentleness. "Don't fall in love with her. Spies are a bad kind of person to get involved with emotionally."

Kyoya bobbed his head in acknowledgment. Once the door was safely shut for a few moments, he spoke to the woman lying on his bed. "How long have you been awake and did anyone else come in?"

"I was never asleep," she muttered in reply, sitting up and stretching her arms above her head. "This is a _very _comfortable bed though. I was tempted." He gave her a half-glare of a pointed look. She returned it with a sheepish one of her own. "Your other brother popped his head in. He... frightens me. Just something about the way that he looks at me." A slight shiver ran down her back.

"That fright is probably justified," he grunted under his breath to himself. She gave him a questioning look but he shook his head.

"Prince... Prince Yuiichi won't tell will he?" she asked, honestly not wanting this to get any farther than it already had.

"Yuiichi's a faithful husband and has a 5-year-old daughter. I can't say the same for Akito. If I had to trust one of their word over the other, it would be Yuiichi's. He won't tell, Hanaru. Don't worry. Though I'd love to know how he found out."

She shrugged, biting her lip with slight worry. "Alright," she mumbled at last, standing. "I'm... going to have to keep up the appearance of being your lover aren't I?"

Kyoya closed his eyes and nodded. "Unfortunately. It should be rather painless though. Akito and my father are the only ones that you have to put up an act around. For the sake of said act. I need to call you something besides your name around them."

She crinkled her nose at the suggestion. Another name for her to memorize. Great. As if she didn't have enough of those already. "Have you come up with one?"

"I was hoping you'd have one actually. I can always borrow the last name of an aristocrat that isn't well known. The first name would be the problem though."

She bit her lip. She had a name. The perfect name in fact. And she wouldn't have to memorize another name if she used it. But giving it to him could be a dangerous move, depending on how rare said name was. "You could... call me Haruhi," she said at last, keeping her eyes trained on her hands in her lap.

She missed the flash that crossed his eyes at the mention of it. "That... would work," he replied, sounding thoughtful. When Haruhi looked up the flash was gone. "Haruhi it is. Now, unless you'd prefer to sleep with me tonight, I suggest that you head back to your own chambers."

She moved her gaze to the floor as she stood and moved toward the door. "Goodnight, _Vyro Inesshig_."

"Goodnight, Haruhi. And if Akito tries anything, tell me." She nodded and continued on her way.

Once she was gone, he sat down and thought. _Haruhi._ Why did that name sound so _damn_ familiar?

And why the hell was he protecting her so thoroughly?

–

Haruhi walked down the hall away from Kyoya's chambers very slowly, rethinking the conversation that she'd eavesdropped on. Two and a half weeks until Nari attempted to murder the entire Kiran royal court. That included her father, the twins'parents, Tamaki, and King Yuzuru.

Kyoya was the only royal Narian male that was against it. If she had to trust anyone, it would have to be him. As much as she didn't want to.

He bothered her.

It bothered her that he seemed to know everything about her just by looking at her.

It bothered her that he could threaten her life with his eyes as cold as ice and she wouldn't have the slightest clue if he was serious or not.

It _bothered _her that everything he knew, he had found out simply by being allowed to think.

And most of all it _bothered _her that he could easily find out she was the Moradian Princess if she didn't watch every aspect of what she _and _he did.

She obviously had to tell the Kiran army about this plan. And if the time-line that was set up the way the Narian King had commanded it be, then she was going to get home just in time to stop it from killing _everyone_.

It would bring an end to the war. But Kyoya was right. There had to be a diplomatic solution. And one that didn't end the lives of everyone important to her.

–

The name was still bothering Kyoya the next day when he woke up, surprisingly earlier than he normally would. Haruhi sounded like such a familiar name to him. But he couldn't pinpoint where exactly. He pulled himself out of bed slowly, stretching his muscles. Something told him that the name was connected to whatever secret she was hiding from him.

Maybe it was a historical reference? Perhaps that was why it was so familiar. He made a mental note to check history books in his father's library when he got the chance. That would possibly give a clue.

He could question her as he had before about her gender. He almost smirked at the memory of her trying to squirm out of his grasp. _That _had been entertaining. It made it obvious that she wasn't completely trustworthy as well.

She had been an unexpected surprise when she had shown up in the dungeon, awaiting to be tortured until her untimely demise. He wouldn't have saved her if she wasn't such an anomaly.

He rubbed his eyes with one hand and reached for his glasses with the other. He thought that it was about time to go ask a few more questions of his 'dear lover.' But first, a trip to his father's library.

–

Haruhi was on her way to Kyoya's room, lost in thought, and only vaguely paying attention to where she was going. So lost in thought that she didn't notice the dark-haired 26-year-old Prince heading her way until he had grabbed her wrist. She shot a glare his way but he just grinned charmingly – or what she guessed was supposed to be. "_Vyro Inesshig, _I'd appreciate it if you'd let go of me," she said hotly.

Akito smirked. "Fiery temper. Now I see what Kyoya likes about you." He carefully backed her against the wall. She closed her eyes. What was it that made Narian Princes want to seduce her? Something in the water perhaps?

"This is highly inappropriate, Prince Akito," she murmured strictly, sounding as pissed as she was while her chest wretched inside.

"It's not if he doesn't find out about it."

Her mouth fell open. "You don't want to do this," she warned softly, eyes blazing angrily. Really. This was ridiculous. This man who was _at least _five years older than her and _married_. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.

He moved in.

Haruhi reacted quickly, something she hadn't done with Kyoya since she'd been in shock. She jerked her head to the side, causing his lips to collide with the wall next to her head instead of her own. Her knee came up swiftly between his legs. His knees gave out while she slipped behind him. Akito groaned from where he was now curled up on the ground, clutching his vital regions. "That's why you don't want to do that. Kyoya already knows this, but, being royalty gets you _nowhere _with me. I'll treat you just like I'd treat any man who advances on me in such a vulgar manner," she spat at him, turning on her heel and continuing on her way.

_'That might not have been the smartest thing to do in my position,' _she thought as she hurried down the rest of the length of hall to Kyoya's bedroom. _'Eh... He deserves it.' _

She slipped into the Third Prince's chambers without knocking. And it was... empty. She sighed under her breath right as a maid wandered in tentatively, most likely to clean a bit. "Excuse me," she muttered, "Do you know where Prince Kyoya is?"

The maid looked at her in bewilderment for a moment before nodding slowly. "He's most likely in his father's library, Sir." She snorted almost comically at being called Sir. A simple maid didn't know that she was a female at first glance but three different men had. It must have just been something in the Ohtori bloodline that made it so.

"Where is that exactly?"

She opened her mouth then closed it again with a sheepish look on her face. "It's probably better if I just show you," she mumbled, looking embarrassed as she took the lead out of bedroom and back down the hall. Two staircases and 4 turns later she was standing in front of two large oak doors. "Here you are."

"Thank you," Haruhi said quietly, pushing the doors open gently. She really hoped that the King wasn't here and she'd only find Kyoya. Running into the Narian King was not part of her agenda particularly. It was nice to explore though. Felt like she was a kid being introduced to the Kiran palace again. She crept among the various bookshelves, glancing down the isles for any sign of the missing Prince.

Finally she found him bowed over a book lying on a reading desk in the very back. She tip-toed over and glanced over his shoulder. The title at the top of the page made her want to get him away from there as soon as she possibly could.

_The History of Filandria: Mora_

"What're you doing?" she asked innocently. He didn't even jump with surprise. Must've sensed her presence.

"Reading," he retorted lightly. He turned the page. She glanced down at the picture on it, a very familiar one. One that her father kept hidden away in their house. She had to stop herself from sucking in a breath as she quickly laid her hand over it, feigning leaning against the desk.

Her family portrait wasn't something that needed to be seen by him. Not any time soon. The sight of her mother's face had scared her enough – because Ranka was right, Haruhi did look just like Queen Kotoko.

Kyoya scowled at her hand. "Do you mind?" he asked crossly.

"Your brother tried to seduce me on my way to your bedroom," she said softly, trying desperately to distract him from what he was doing. "I took care of it. But I doubt he's very pleased at the moment. And he's probably aching pretty badly." She forced out a cough as his eyes shot to hers.

"What do you mean...?"

"I," she paused, casting her eyes to the ceiling, "Well... He sort of advanced on me. I warned him not to. Honestly, I did. But he did it anyway. So I... kicked him where it hurts?"

Kyoya sighed under his breath and pushed her hand out of the way so he could close the book, abandoning it there on the table. "Damn him. Needs to be set straight. Honestly. If he's going to be such a damn flirt then why the hell did he get married?" he growled under his breath, taking off toward the door. She followed behind him at a slightly slower place, glancing back at the book on the desk.

She knew one thing.

She couldn't let him return to what he was doing or he'd know. She paused, looking after him until he was out of sight then hurriedly picked up the book and crammed it on a random shelf about eight yards away, replacing it with a different one.

Then, only then, did she make her way back out to where Kyoya was just disappearing around a corner farther down the hall. She jogged to catch up. "Haruhi," he murmured, turning to her as he stopped outside what she assumed to be Akito's bedroom, "Go to my chambers and wait for me there." She nodded and left him.

After that Akito didn't bother with her much anymore.

–

It wasn't until days later that Kyoya actually got around to questioning her. "Why did you choose the name Haruhi?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide her inner-distress at this particular topic emerging so quickly. Thank God she'd hidden that book in the King's library 4 days ago. "It's a pretty name," she mumbled, suddenly becoming very interested in her fingernails.

"No," he said quickly, standing to stride over and stand in front of her, "Oh no. Don't you even try that on me. You don't choose something just because it's 'pretty,' Hanaru."

Her eyes shot up to meet his while narrowing at the same time. "And how would you know? With all due respect, Your Highness, you've barely even known me for a month. Don't try telling me what I would and wouldn't do. Don't tell me who I am."

"Really," he grunted, "Then tell me. Who are you?"

She blinked a few times, staring at him. "Hanaru Fujinara," she stated carefully.

"You know what I mean. Who are you as a person?"

Her eyes never left his. This was a surprising question, to say the least. Before it was just about learning about her past. Whether she was trustworthy as a Narian spy. He'd never asked something about herself as a person. "I..." she paused and closed her eyes. May as well tell him something that his reaction might give her a clue as to whether _he _was trustworthy or not. "My father is part of the royal court. One of my closest friends is the Kiran Prince, who believes I'm _male_. Four other close friends are also part of three families that are part of the royal court."

"That... doesn't answer my question..."

"I'm getting to that," she half-snapped at him, "If anyone were to try to hurt them. I'd do anything in my power to stop it. My father in particular. So, I have to warn you. If you or anyone in your family does something that would put my father in danger, I won't hesitate to put a stop to it."

His eyebrows shot up. "You know that would get you killed right?"

"You won't kill me."

"You're just trying to convince yourself of that. Don't be mistaken, Hanaru. You're a special case. But even my special cases don't get special treatment when it comes to punishment." His voice, and eyes, were cold as ice. She suppressed a shiver as she stared at him.

So he was against the plan, but he'd still kill her if she put a stop to it. Lovely. That just put her between a rock and a hard place. She was loyal to Kyoya. She was. But she was also incredibly loyal to her friends and family back in Kira. Asking her to choose between those loyalties...

"What're you thinking about?"

She shook her head and raised her gaze from where it had slowly wandered to the floor. "Sorry, what?"

"What. Are. You. Thinking. About?"

She sighed and let herself fall back onto the bed she was sitting on. Her eyes roved the ceiling. "Nothing," she mumbled. _'Just how I'm probably going to end up dead for betraying you.' _

"Doesn't look like nothing."

"It's nothing, _Vryo Inesshig_." Then a thought occurred to her after a memory flashed through her head.

"_And he's aware that means that they must wipe out _all _the families?" _

"_Yes. When the assassins come back home, there won't be a bit of royal Kiran blood left in that godforsaken country." _

She blinked a few times and sat straight up, ramrod straight. If they were meaning to kill all the families of the royal court and all _family members_. That meant that, if the assassins that were being sent over there succeeded, she would never be coming back here. Kyoya looked at her with raised eyebrows while she muttered to herself, quietly enough that he couldn't hear, "I... have to tell or I'll die."

"Pardon?" he asked. She looked up at him and shook her head. "You can't tell me it's nothing, Hanaru."

"I can too." _'Thank God he can't read minds.' _"There's nothing stopping me from saying it's nothing."

"But it's _not _nothing."

"I'm sad to say, or not actually, that I'm not telling you. Just as I'm not going to tell you the last secret that I have."

He glared at her. "I _will_ torture you."

"Do it then. I'm. Not. Telling."

He growled under his breath but let her be, just as she thought he would. Kyoya was a kind person underneath all that cold exterior, she was positive of it. All she had to do was access that kinder side of him and it would keep her safe. "You have to trust me," he muttered finally.

"I don't _have_ to," she replied softly, "It'd be nice to be able to trust you completely. But I can't. I can hardly even trust myself with this." God. She really was going to have to betray him. Her stomach churned apprehensively. There was still a week left until she had to go back to Kira. In that time, she had to make sure that he didn't know who she was. "Would you... Would you be too incredibly mad if I betrayed your family even when you didn't approve of what was being done yourself?"

Something flashed in his eyes. She didn't get a look at it before it disappeared but somehow it just made her feel sicker. "Depends. What are you planning on telling Kira, Hanaru?"

"I'm talking hypothetically."

"Still depends," he said with an air of thoughtfulness, "If I didn't approve of it in the first place and you had good reasons, I'd probably spare you." He still seemed suspicious though.

Well... At least that was good to know. And maybe, just maybe, she could put a bit of trust in him now.

"However," he added softly, "I'd advise against doing anything of the sort. My father is not a forgiving man. Nor is Akito. Yuiichi has his moments but he can be quite cruel at times too. Do yourself a favor and don't do anything rash."

She sighed. _'Too late for that, Kyoya.' _

–

**A/N: Filandria = The world they live in. I came up with a name for it. Yaaaaay~ **

**How many identities does Haruhi have now? Lessee. 1. Princess. 2. Kiran spy. 3. Narian spy. 4. Kyoya's lover. Lucky her. She's in a... very... interesting... position. Don't you think? Notice that she's also starting to grow an attachment to a certain Narian bastard. (Said with much love.) **

**Kudos to: BlackestNight BrightestDay, 43ver, Koharu Veddette, Enigmaticrose4 and Moonstarr394!**

**I had this finished for days... But my email was being stupid and wouldn't let me attach the documents to send to Koharu. So... It's late. Sorrrrrrry~ I really wanted to have it up. I blame my obnoxiously slow internet connection as of late. **


	9. 8: Tugging Paranoia

_Lost in the Dark _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 8 – Tugging Paranoia_

He couldn't find that blasted book. That book that he'd been reading when Haruhi had interrupted him. He thought that perhaps he'd put it back on the shelf but it was nowhere to be found. It had seemingly disappeared. While he frowned at the rather large volume – that looked suspiciously like a law book – that now laid on the desk, Haruhi wandered in and slipped between two rows in search of something to read.

Kyoya noticed her and strode over to the row she'd disappeared behind. "Hanaru, do you know where the book I was reading the other day is?" he called, leaning against the end of the shelf.

"Which one?" she asked distractedly, running her finger along the spine of a novel titled _The Prince and the Pauper_ in gold script. She tapped two fingers on it then slid it off the shelf. "Your father won't mind I hope," she murmured softly in explanation to his raised eyebrow.

He shook his head. "He rarely comes in here anyway," he replied very quickly before answering her previous question. "_The History of Filandria_. I was reading it when you interrupted me."

She shook her head. "Haven't seen it since we left the library," she muttered, flipping open the book in her hands gently. A small smile found it's way onto her face. "My father read this to me so many times when I was about 10 to make me go to sleep. I must have memorized it cover to cover by the time I was 13."

He held out his hand for the book. She placed it in it delicately. One look at the cover and his face turned from curious to blank. She rose her eyebrow at him in question as he looked up. "This isn't my father's," he murmured, "It's my mother's."

Blinking, she prompted him to continue, "And...?"

"It was her favorite book." She noticed the past tense and frowned. "And she was killed by a group of rebels 12 years ago."

Her eyes immediately softened while he replaced the book on the shelf in it's proper place. "I'm sorry," she said sympathetically as he turned around. She seemed to have distracted him from the history book, which was a good thing.

"It was 12 years ago," he grunted, back to her, "Can't do anything about it now." He walked out without another word.

–

"Your curse. What is it exactly?"

She knew this question would come eventually. As soon as she'd mentioned The Witch cursing her as a child she knew that he'd inquire about it eventually. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Do I have to tell you?"

"It would be appreciated," he grunted in reply. By that she knew he meant, _'Yes you do.'_ He was sitting in a rather fancy, almost throne-like, chair, slouched slightly and with his legs spread. His elbow rested on the chair's arm while his fist connected with his jaw to hold his head up in a rather bored looking pose.

Haruhi sighed softly. Really, she'd hoped that he wouldn't ask. She'd _hoped _that they'd go the last 2 days before she left with no questions on this. No one but the twins and her Dad knew about the curse. And she would have loved to keep it that way. Besides, when you told someone _not _to do something it normally just made them more inclined to do it. Which was rather unfortunate for her. "I'd rather not," she mumbled, looking down at the folded hands in her lap.

"You know... You just make me more curious by saying that," he said in a surprisingly soft voice though it still had a firm undertone that threatened her into answering the question.

So, she decided to be vague. "Remember what your brother warned you about not falling in love with me?" He nodded, looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and confusion in his eyes. "I'd... follow that advice if I were you."

"And if I don't?"

Those mere words caused that horrid inner-chest wrenching to start again. This time she couldn't hold back the flinch and the small gasp of pain. It surprised the shit out of her. Words. That's all it took. And she didn't even know what the hell this thing was. It'd never happened before. Kyoya stared at her, looking slightly troubled as she clutched the front of her shirt and cleared her throat like it would dislodge something that was irritating her deep down in her chest. But the pain stayed there, even when she sent her Witch painkillers after it. It _stayed_. She coughed.

"Hanaru?" he asked, not sounding concerned in the slightest.

And just like that. It went away. She shook her head. "Just don't do it, kay?" she replied after clearing her throat out a bit more.

He sighed softly, rolling his eyes, but nodded even so. "What was that?" he muttered, referring to her episode while raising an eyebrow at her.

"I have no clue. It just... Hurt suddenly and wouldn't stop. Then disappeared just as quickly." Her eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to figure out this problem that kept reappearing. "It's happened before. Earlier in my time here. But before I started coming here, it never happened. So _odd_."

He shrugged, finally sitting up from his slouched position and stretching his arms above his head. "It is odd," he murmured, also frowning slightly. "Perhaps you should see a doctor. Could have something to do with your heart."

She started at him like he was crazy for a moment. "You know that all going to the doctor would do is let someone else know that I'm a girl. I _don't _want that, thanks. It's probably nothing."

"Akito has medical training. He could examine you."

She snorted, seething slightly just at the mention of that bastard. He'd tried to corner her again the day before. Apparently Kyoya practically biting his head off once didn't teach him a single thing. "I'd rather die from heart disease or whatever crap this is."

He chuckled and stood. "Well, it was a thought. I wasn't too particularly keen on letting him either. He didn't try anything else did he?"

There it was again. That painful tug. She gripped the front of her shirt again, holding back a whimper while she replied a bit brokenly, "Not until yesterday." His face seemed to darken slightly but it became blank again almost instantly. _It_ went away. "You'd think that one kick to his family jewels would make him stop. But he just keeps coming back for more. Isn't he married?"

"Yes," Kyoya growled, "Yes he is. I'm going to _kill _that bastard. Sleep with practically every maid in the palace, sure. But does he have to go after his brothers' wives and lovers – fake or not?" His mini rant was cut short when she squeaked a little in pain again. A small, short burst lasting only a second this time. He regarded her for a moment then asked, "When was the last time it happened? Before the last 5 minutes I mean."

She groaned and rubbed her head. "When your brother was advancing on me yesterday." She shook her head. "And before that it was when you were putting on a show of kissing me in front of said brother." She threw a pointed glare at him with the addition of these words. "Is that _really _necessary?"

He looked... puzzled, to say the least. "I haven't a clue what it is," she grumbled, "It's starting to bug me though. Makes me almost eager to go back to Kira. Never happens there."

He snorted and strode over to her, hovering next to the bed for a moment. His eyes were shifted to the side though and his head tilted toward the door, indicating that he was listening for something. She was on his bed again while he had been in the chair. Suddenly he swooped down and captured her lips. She jumped in surprise while the pain started again. Then she noticed that the door had opened and a pretty woman with black hair the same shade as Kyoya's wandered in. She squeaked. "Sorry, Kyoya! I should've knocked!"

He growled as he pulled away. "Really. You should. You're nearly as bad as Akito," he stated, feigning anger as he glared half-heartedly at her. Haruhi looked past him curiously. Kyoya glanced at her then back at his sister. "Fuyumi, this is Haruhi. Haruhi, this is my sister, Fuyumi. Who _should _be back in Pait with her husband," he introduced briefly, ending off in a scolding tone that was directed at his sibling.

The older woman just giggled. "So she's the one that Akito keeps rambling about when Sachi's not around."

"He does more than just ramble," he snorted under his breath, subconsciously wrapping an arm around her waist and wondering once again why he was protecting this girl so much. He noticed Haruhi's sharp intake of breath as he did so and looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. Something... Was hurting her. Maybe it _was _a good thing that she was going back to Kira in a few days.

"She's yours though, right?" Fuyumi asked, gazing at the couple fondly with a certain glint in her eye. Haruhi, playing her part, nodded and pushed her face into his shoulder while trying to ignore the faint ache in her chest. "Then Akito should lay off. I'll talk to him. I _am _his big sister after all. He has to listen to me or he knows the consequences."

"Thanks, _Hbi Uersis_."

"I'll just leave the two of you alone now, I suppose." Another small giggle slipped from Fuyumi's lips as Kyoya smirked and leaned back toward his 'lover', seeming like he was going to kiss her again. She prepared herself but he didn't get there. As soon as the door shut he was standing again.

"Well. I'm going to sleep. So, I suggest that you head back to your quarters." She nodded, suppressing a yawn as she slipped off the bed. "And Hanaru," he added quietly as she reached the door, "You have to have some trusted doctor back in Kira. Go see him. I wasn't kidding when I said that it could be your heart."

She didn't let him see that his words sent her into another heart-clenching episode.

–

He was stubborn. And definitely wasn't distracted for long either. Very next day she found herself cornered in her own bedroom by him as he demanded to know _exactly _what her curse was. She closed her eyes while he hovered over where she sat on the bed. "You're leaving tomorrow. I have to know what will happen if I do," he growled softly, staring at her in a predatory way.

Sighing, she let her eyelids flicker open to stare into his gray orbs. "You know everything else. Please. Allow me a few secrets," she murmured, feeling exhausted.

"Why does it matter if I know why I shouldn't fall for you? If anything, I'd think you'd tell me just to make sure I won't."

Now there he had a point. And he still didn't know about her royal blood. That was a good thing. She sighed, rather heavily this time and glared up at him with tired eyes. "Fine. You have to follow your brother's advice."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't I'll have to kill you."

He laughed. The bastard actually laughed. Like this was some sort of sick joke. "Come now, Hanaru. What is it really?" he prompted, traces of his smirk-like laughter still in his voice.

All she did was stare at him. He really did think she was joking. Great. "I'm... completely serious, Your Highness," she muttered, "I'm cursed to kill any man that falls in love with me." She left off the second part about perishing with said person if she returned their feelings. For some reason, ever since her father had told her about it when she was six she could hear her grandmother's words in her ears, _"You, little one, will be cursed to _kill_ any man who dares to fall in love with you. And if you dare to love them back, you will perish with them."_

Haruhi looked away from him as it flooded into her head again. She _wished _it was a joke. But it wasn't.

It was very much real.

–

She woke earlier the day she was to leave to a hand on her shoulder. She jerked upright, throwing the hand off in the process. She glared blearily at Kyoya. "What the hell are you doing up?" she rasped hoarsely, clearing her throat quickly. He never woke up earlier than she did. "Something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. You just need to leave. The Witch is on her way apparently. And I know how you don't like her," he replied. She was slightly taken aback at the somewhat kind gesture. And if anything, proved that he was a good person.

She yawned and nodded, waving him out of the room so she could properly get ready to leave. 10 minutes later she managed to get out her bedroom door, with all her things, and find the Narian Prince waiting for her. "You didn't have to wait," she muttered.

"Ah. But that's where you're wrong. I still have to brief you."

"What're you going to tell your brother when he realizes that I'm not around?"

He shrugged his shoulders like he didn't have a care in the world as they started to walk. "I'll probably tell him that you've gone home to see your family for awhile. It's partially true." The corners of her lips turned down in a slight, distant frown, lost in thoughts of betrayal and untimely doom. He stayed quiet the entire time that they went down to the front gates where she looked at him expectantly.

She was dressed in casual clothes just in case Akito caught sight of them before she left. And ironically, he happened to be hanging around in the front courtyard where they were in view as well. "Three weeks," Kyoya said quietly, "As always, I'll give you an extra week before assuming that they've caught you." Noticing his brother's gaze, he brought a hand to her face, brushing her hair away while cupping her face in his palm. Her heart yanked for a moment before she caught sight of how empty his eyes were. "Don't do anything stupid." And he leaned in, placing a surprisingly gentle kiss on her lips.

"I won't," she replied when he pulled away. She bit her lip then stood on her tiptoes so her mouth was right next to his ear. "Please don't be too angry with me when I return," she breathed in Kyoya's ear before she flitted through the gates and out of sight. He didn't even get a chance to respond.

He knew one thing though. And that was that if she was saying that now, then he'd probably be pissed by the time that she came back. Most likely, pissed enough to kill her. She knew something and she was going to report it.

–

She arrived in Kira two days later with no problems getting back into the country. Kaoru was there to meet her before she even got completely into camp. "Namahi!" he exclaimed in delight.

"I'll tell you everything later," she said quickly, "Now I need to see the General immediately. Our parents are in danger, Kaoru. So are we." He looked slightly stunned to which she only stared at him with a strained sense of urgency. He nodded and took off into camp, weaving around the milling soldiers. The guards in front of General Fusawa rose their eyebrows at Namahi. "Urgent news," was all she said in explanation as to why she was there.

She could hear voices inside but entered anyway when the guard to the left pulled aside the flap that acted as a door. "General Fusawa, Sir!" she saluted quickly, standing at attention as he turned around.

"Ahh. Marioka," Fusawa muttered, "Good to see you back." He glanced behind him at the two men in the tent. "Lieutenant-General Pike, Sergeant Major Sora, we'll talk again later." They nodded and slipped out of the tent. The General looked past her to the door-flap where the twins were both hovering. He sighed. "Come in Privates."

The two red-heads scurried in and stood at attention next to Namahi, who was growing increasingly anxious with each passing second. Tomorrow. Tomorrow or the day after that, Nari was going to attack. And she had to get it out of her system. "Sir. Permission to speak."

"Permission granted. Tell me everything."

She took a deep breath and said a silent prayer that Kyoya would somehow forgive her for this in her head. "Tomorrow or Thursday, Nari is going to attack. And I don't mean some small village pillaging. I mean, a _huge _country-taking-over scheme."

Hikaru and Kaoru both stared at her. While Fusawa paused in what he was writing down and looked at her. "And what does this scheme entail exactly, Marioka?"

She swallowed and closed her eyes. "A full blown attack on Katari." He didn't seem to follow but she cut in before he could interrupt. "But that attack is only a distraction to get a wizard or two snuck past. From there, they'll set up a MB just outside Miera. Assassins will be sent through that barrier. And those assassins-" She broke off and glanced at the twins then cast her eyes to the ceiling. She felt like breaking down right there. Drawing a shuddering breath, she continued, "They'll murder the royal family and all the families of the royal court."

By this point she opened her eyes to find her superior standing and staring at her open mouthed. "How on earth did you acquire this information, Marioka?" The twins just stared at her in disbelief, completely ignoring the fact that they hadn't been given permission to stand at ease.

"I..." she paused, thinking up her story and how to weave it into the one that she already had, "overheard Prince Akito Ohtori talking to Prince Kyoya and a Sergeant Major about it when he was visiting the camp. Their father later called them. I was given guard duty and heard everything."

He nodded, glancing over the three privates standing in front of him. "Marioka, your father is part of the royal court is he not?" She nodded quickly in response. "And you two... Both of your parents are as well if I remember correctly." The twins nodded numbly, their faces pale. The General sighed and ran a quick hand through his hair. "Hikaru, Kaoru, find Sergeant Major Sora, Lieutenant-General Pike, and First Sergeant Meirs."

They ducked out of the tent quickly. Namahi's worry for her father and Tamaki was growing desperately. "Sir. I'd like to be with my father when the attack happens."

"Of course you will, Namahi," he replied quietly, "I just need to get protection details for every member of the royal court and their family members first. Including yourself. How many people in the Hitachiin household and your own?"

She counted quickly in her head and replied, "Five in the Hitachiin. The twins, their parents, and their grandmother. Mine, only two. Myself and my father."

"I'll assume that you three won't need as much protection as the other four. One soldier will be sent to your household and three to the Hitachiin. You're to leave as soon as I have details on the other 8 families in the royal court. Got it?" She nodded quickly. "Increased security will be added to the palace. I doubt Prince Tamaki will even be able to set foot outside the castle for the rest of the week."

She sighed. "He'll hate that."

"It's for his protection. Hopefully, we'll be able to shut down the barrier before the assassins get through, but just in case we need to take precautions."

She drew in a shuddering breath as the twins returned with the three requested men. "Marioka. Do me a favor and send in Corporal Kara and Major Ryle. They both have a parent on the royal court as well." She nodded and ducked out. Finding the two wasn't hard. They were in the mess hall, joking around with a few of their buddies.

"Corporal Kara, Major Ryle. General Fusawa requests your presence in his tent immediately. It's an emergency." Her head hurt just a bit and the weight on her shoulders was pressing down. Kyoya was going to kill her when she got back. Kara and Ryle stood and made their way out with her following behind.

But what was saying that she had to go back? If she was gone for more than four weeks then he'd just assume she'd been hung for high treason. She could easily just stay here and avoid ever returning to Nari. In fact, she should probably plan on it.

The General's tent was getting quite crowded. Sergeant Major Sora slipped out of the tent as they were arriving. She was dismissed after bringing the two men, as were the twins. They were informed that they would be called to his tent when they were to return home.

–

In their shared tent Namahi and the twins were silent. "If I don't get home and see for myself that Dad and Tamaki haven't already been slaughtered soon I'm going to kill someone," she muttered finally, lifting her head from where it was placed in her hands.

"Calm down, Princess," the older Hitachiin murmured in an attempt to calm her.

"Really," Kaoru added, "You know our father will gladly give his life for yours."

"But I don't want either of them to die," she snapped, groaning and rocking back and forth where she sat on her make-shift bed.

Hikaru sighed and laid down on his cot. "I'm going to sleep." Kaoru looked straight at her. She nodded, keeping her eye on the older twin to make sure he wouldn't see their silent messages.

"I need air. Gonna take a walk," Namahi mumbled, slipping out before either could reply. She headed straight for the small village outside of the camp, knowing Kaoru would meet her there soon enough so she could spill her beans. He did only a few minutes later.

"So, what happened over in the land of the evil?" he asked softly, a slight joking tone to his voice as he walked next to her. She closed her eyes and brought her clasped hands to her mouth.

"Well," she started, "I got there. Gave the information I thought would most likely lead to less death. Then, he surprised me by torturing me for more." Kaoru tensed, fire flashing in his eyes while she watched his reaction. "Torture method? Seduction. He _kissed _it out of me. He knows."

"Knows what...?" the twin asked cautiously, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.

"That I'm a girl. He knew since the first moment he saw me apparently. His _siblings _all did too. Funny, huh? He also knows about my curse – or the first part of it at least, my connection to Tamaki, and the fact that Dad's part of the royal court."

"You told him that much?"

"He wouldn't leave me alone! Not to mention, he'd threaten seduction-torture every time I tried to refuse. Don't worry though, he has no clue that I'm a princess. Though, he does know the name Haruhi."

"_What?_" he exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief.

"Let me explain that part. Y'see... Akito, his second oldest brother, apparently... started _lusting _after me once he saw me. Which was ironically after I had overheard him talking to his Sergeant Major about this huge plan that they're putting to action. To make him leave me alone, when I'm at the Narian palace, I'm undercover as Kyoya's _lover_. It was his idea, not mine. He needed a name to call me by other than Hanaru. Presto, I'm Haruhi Fari, only daughter of Jana and Serge Fari, Narian aristocrats."

"He's... _protecting _you? From his brother?"

She nodded, now feeling utter resentment against the Narian bastard now that she was talking to someone about it. "His oldest brother, Yuiichi, knew that I was the spy and not his lover immediately. Kyoya swore him to secrecy. So, I have to be careful around Fuyumi, Akito, and his father. Other than that, it's just trying to avoid his questions that's a pain in the ass. Oh... You know what the strangest thing that's happened the entire time is?"

"Hmm?"

"I kept getting these... sharp pains in my chest. Like... It feels like my heart's getting ripped out of my chest. It only ever happens when I'm there. Never here." She paused a moment as her head ran through everything that Kyoya had told her about going to the doctor. "Your mom still has that medical and healer training right?" Kaoru nodded slowly. "Think she could take a look when we get home?"

"'Course. You know Mum's always glad to help," he replied softly, taking hold of her arm. "Come on. We should be getting back. The General's probably going to be sending us home soon."

Namahi nodded, frowning slightly as silence overtook the two. When Kaoru got tired of it right before camp he spoke. "Be careful... With the entire lover thing. You know what will happen if he actually falls for you." She just barely held back a shudder at the idea of having to kill any man, particularly an enemy Prince. She ran a hand through her hair. That was definitely out of the question.

Question was: How did you _stop _someone from falling in love with you?

–

Tamaki was, surprisingly, sitting in her living room when she got to her house, surrounded by specialized security personnel. She faltered as one stepped in front of her friend to keep her from stepping closer to him. "Tamaki...?"

"It's alright Tora," the blonde muttered from behind the brute. He pushed his way past to stand in front of her. "What the hell is going on? No one will tell me anything. All I know is that I can't even go to the bathroom without someone escorting me."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Dad!" she called through the house. No reply. Her heart went into hyper-drive. She resisted cursing in her native language. "Tamaki... Where's my father?" He shrugged, muttering something about the house being empty when he got there. "Dad!"

"Namahi, calm down," Kaoru murmured, "He's probably out getting groceries or something."

"Besides, they're not supposed to attack for a day or two," Hikaru added.

"Attack? What attack?" Tamaki asked, eyes widening as his imagination went haywire in a horror fantasy.

The only woman in the room turned her gaze to him. "While I was in Nari, I learned of a plan to ultimately take down Kira. They're going to try and assassinate you, your father, and everyone in all the families on the royal court." She took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate with panic. Her father wasn't in the house. That alone sent her into a flurry. "There's no court meeting today is there, Tamaki?"

The blonde shook his head quickly and she twisted around on the man who had been assigned to protect Ranka. "Corporal Sarichi, I need to find my father."

"Namahi," Kaoru said gently, trying to calm his flustered charge, "He may have gone to our place to be closer to Dad and Mum."

"Let's go then!" she exclaimed, grabbing all three young adults and heading for the twins' parents' house. Sarichi, the twins' small group of three, and Tamaki's three men followed them as she rushed there, barging in the door without knocking.

And there was her father, sitting at the table blinking at her with the Hitachiins. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly strode forward to embrace him. "Namahi!"

"Dad," she mumbled, squeezing him, "Why weren't you home? God, I thought you'd been kidnapped or something!"

"I get so lonely when you aren't there!" he explained in a slight pout. The soldiers behind them just stared and tried to keep a straight face. Noticing their looks, Namahi coughed and pulled away from her father. "Who're these people? What's going on?"

"Dad," she said softly. Somehow, she figured this would be easier to tell him in Moradian. And the words were just bursting to come out of her. So she continued with a short, "Walk with me," and took his hand, pulling him out of the house. Sarichi moved to follow but she held up her hand. However, the twins' father pushed out too. "They'll be fine with me," she consoled the two guards.

Once they were just outside of the town she turned to them and took Ranka's hand in both of hers. "_Faetha_," she said softly, "Sarichi will be protecting you the next few days. And I believe Mori was assigned to Daichi," she added, gesturing to the twins' father.

"_W-whiska?_" Ranka whispered.

"_Hahome ie gaoch avi tris est ka te, sha, et reist ou et roeva cobor, est et roeva faemica. Faetha, _it's for your protection. I don't want you getting hurt."

"B-But... _Whersa abu te?_"

"_Sha wilt baer fike. _I'm trained to protect myself. And you know that I'm best at hand-to-hand combat. They're going to find the barrier and shut it down before the assassins arrive. This is just precautions. I know it's strange. And being escorted everywhere is annoying. But it's only a few days."

Her father nodded slowly, pulling her close again. "_Sharla satoi, sha daementha._"

"I will," she replied as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

Daichi glanced at them then murmured, "We should get back. I doubt those _guardians _are going to go long without us in their sights. Even if Namahi is with us."

The other two nodded and let him lead the way back.

–

**A/N: Kind of a bad place to stop off. But... It's _ten _pages. Come on now. Next chapter will probably be action-packed. Because I feel like I need to practice writing action scenes a bit. So... You get some next chapter. Harhar. **

**Prince and the Pauper. Never read it. But I figure that it's something that Haruhi would enjoy (Kinda? Maybe?) And with my luck I'll probably end up reading it in IB English next year. Greeeeat. **

**I know you all are thinking, "She's fallen in love! Crap!" But that's not it~ It's something else~ But it DOES have to do with love, sort of. You'll see, you'll see~ **

**Internet's still slow. Ugh. And my sister's eating a salad. So now I'm craving one. Damn her. **

**Yes I realize it's been FOREVER since I wrote a chapter of AN. I'm getting there. I'm trying to do it without rewiring my brain again. **

**Kudos to: BlackestNight BrightestDay, Xaldin's Girlfriend, and Koharu Veddette! **

**P.S: EVERYONE READ THE NEW OURAN CHAPTER RIGHT? RIIIIIGHT? FFFF. I DIED SQWEEING WITH UTTER HAPPINESS. (Even if it took an hour to read it since my internet took forever to load every damn page.) And my family all looked at me funny. It was HI-LARIOUS. BUT YEAH. I'M HAPPY NOW KTHX. (Even if Kyoya didn't get the girl. Though I kinda figured that from the beginning... My fandom knows no bounds.) AND NOW. I CAN'T WAIT TILL AUGUST 24th. THAT IS ALL. **

**Oh and I figured out how Tamaki and Haruhi manage to work out thanks to two of my friends who're almost EXACTLY like them who're dating at the moment. With the newest chapter, it all makes sense now! **


	10. 9: Defense

_Lost in the Dark_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 9 - Defense_

Namahi and Ranka returned home. The 20-year-old sent Corporal Sarichi to sleep since she knew that he'd have to stay up all night, keeping watch. And she'd gladly look after her father till nightfall as well. "Dad," she murmured, frowning, "What do you think would happen is someone found out about us? About me specifically?"

He was quiet for the longest time, making her think that maybe he had fallen asleep in his chair again since his eyes were both closed. Then, without opening his eyes he asked, "Who knows, Haruhi?"

She bit her bottom lip as he opened an eye to look at his daughter. "He only knows about my gender," she mumbled.

"He? _He? _Who is this _he_? Do you know how dangerous it is that a _he _knows that you're a girl?"he demanded in slight outrage.

She sighed and shook her head. "Actually... It's four hes and a she. But..."

"_WHAT? _What the hell are you _doing_? And who are they?"

Biting her lip seemed to be a bad nervous habit for her. "Shh. Dad. You'll wake Sarichi. Don't talk so loud." She quieted him by taking hold of his hands and sitting kneeling directly in front of him. "It's the Narian royal family."

Her father's face seemed to pale quite a lot. "Haruhi... Any of those Princes could turn you into a murderer do you realize that?"

She sighed in exasperation and stood, walking toward the couch that was against the other wall. "Princes Yuiichi and Akito are married and King Yoshio has yet to even meet me. He just knows that I'm there."

"And the Third Prince?" he grunted, "What're you going to do about him?"

She drew in a breath. "I don't know. I'm just hoping that he doesn't fall for me. That would be a disaster."

"You don't hope for things like that. Because a lot of the time it just happens without the control of anyone."

She groaned to herself. That was just great. So she couldn't even do anything to stop this if Kyoya somehow gained feelings for her.

The thought of which freaked her out more than the thought of being killed by the Narian assassin that might attempt to murder her.

–

It was midday. The heat was bearing down on their backs. And they were getting increasingly fed up with this look-out duty in Katari. "I think Marioka was hearing things," Somaru grumbled, scratching his head while turning to his companion.

"Didn't you hear? It could be today or tomorrow. And 'soon as we see Narians we're to report it and alert the guards back in Miera," Makiri retorted, drawing his sword to clean it for the millionth time that day.

"I know that. But we've been here since dawn. Where the hell are our replacements anyway?" the former continued to complain. Makiri sighed. Honestly, he agreed. But the tension in the air was apparent. But that was from the anticipation of the soldiers. It was stifling to the point of a newly recruited Private setting off a hysterical false alarm.

Behind them they heard a shout. Turning, they noticed two men waving and walking toward the watch tower. Somaru grinned. "Finally," he muttered, waving his arms back at them.

Makiri rolled his eyes and headed for the ladder that was led down the side of the make-shift watch tower. The other stayed at the top and kept his eyes on the horizon to the east.

When he was about to head to the ladder so the replacements could take their places, an arrow shot out of nowhere and hit him in the back. He grunted loudly. Makiri turned from where he was just barely starting on the ladder. "Somaru!" He pulled himself back up and ran to his fallen comrade. Another arrow shot over from the ground below and lodged itself in the floor of the tower right next to him. He stood quickly and strode to the edge, looking down.

His eyes widened and he sprinted to the other end where the replacements were starting to climb the ladder. "NARIANS!" he yelled down. "_NARIANS_!"

The bell hanging next to the ladder starting ringing loudly seconds later. The sound would carry all the way to the next town where two messengers were waiting on horseback to ride off to both the General and the guards planted in Miera.

After that they would bar anyone from entering or leaving the 10 mile radius outside Miera. Those wizards wouldn't get through to set up the barrier without the army being aware of it.

What they didn't know was that the wizards had already sneaked past disguised as a farmers heading to town to trade in crops.

–

_Meanwhile... _

The Mariokas went to the Hitachiins for lunch, as they often had in the past. Namahi had a slight headache from the twins and her father being overly enthusiastic over making dinner (even if any meal made by her father was normally the best thing she'd ever had). The current argument was whether there were enough vegetables to be a healthy meal. Ranka said no, twins said yes. But the twins also hated eating their veggies. Thus, Ranka won.

"Ah! Namahi!" he exclaimed, reverting easily to her Kiran name since their guards were around. "We need more onions and peppers!" She sighed and glanced at her slightly-girly father who had an apron tied around his waist. He started toward the door only to be stopped by his daughter standing firmly in the doorway.

"We have some at our house and it's not safe for you to go. I'll be back soon," she mumbled, turning him and pushing him back toward Sarichi and the others. "Don't make Corporal Sarichi's job more difficult."

She slipped her sword onto her belt on her way out the door, just in case, and wandered back to her own home. She passed Mrs. Jurari who smiled and waved from her regular corner. "Need anymore fruits or veggies, Namahi?" she asked kindly.

"Not right now, I don't think. Thank you though, Mrs. Jurari," she replied respectfully, continuing on her way to the little house she and her father shared.

From the moment she stepped into the house she felt like someone was watching her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up straight. She looked around carefully, not noticing anything particularly out of place. She went to the kitchen and retrieved the onions and peppers that her father had wanted.

Something creaked behind her and she briefly thanked the old floorboards of the house. Her sword was drawn in her right hand in a heartbeat while her left hand threw an onion at high speed. The man she was faced with dodged the throw and lunged forward, sword fully extended.

Namahi side-stepped and countered, hearing the loud clang of metal-on-metal as the two swords collided.

It was difficult, parrying with this highly trained assassin when she was used to practice battles with comrades. And this bastard was fast too. Faster than she had anticipated.

After defending herself furiously and acquiring several gashes in her shoulder, side, and a slight one on her cheek, she finally found an opening and held her sword to his neck. "_Wemo oda H mlki voy_," she hissed. He stayed as still as stone, his sword clattering to the ground. "Now... You're going to tell me where the magical barrier is and how many assassins got through. Got it?"

She got the feeling that he wasn't going to say anything anytime soon. He merely grunted something that sounded suspiciously like, _'Kiran filth,' _in Narian and spit in her face. She wiped it off with her free hand and dug the edge of her blade into his neck until it drew a bit of blood. "Do I need to take you to the goddamn dungeon? Surely they'll be glad to torture you to death there. How many assassins?"

"Four," he growled reluctantly.

"And the barrier?" Silence again. "Tch... We'll find it eventually anyway. I think I'll turn you over to the royal guards anyway though. They need a little bit of _fun _every now and then anyway."

"Namahi!" the twins both called from behind her.

"I'm fine, guys!" she called back, "Caught a little assassin playing burglar. Do me a favor." She swiftly brought the butt of her sword down on his head, effectively knocking him out. "Take this bastard to the palace dungeon."

They nodded, staring at her wide-eyed. "Remind me never to get into a sword fight with you, Namahi," Hikaru grumbled softly as he and his twin hoisted the man up between them.

"There's four other assassins in the city. Might be more on the way if they haven't gotten the barrier shut down yet," she said softly, smearing the blood on her cheek by wiping her hand over it quickly. "My guess is one of them are probably going after Tamaki and King Yuzuru while the other three are trying to get to other royal court families. Warn the guards when you get there."

"Got it, Boss," Kaoru muttered, grunting under the weight of the assassin dressed in black. "Get back to your Dad and our parents will you?"

She nodded, grabbed two onions and peppers and took off out the door at a full sprint toward the Hitachiin residence.

–

She kind of felt faint by the time she reached her friends' home. She drew her sword quickly when she noticed the broken window and tried to steady her heart rate. She swallowed before inching through the front door.

First thing she noticed was Sarichi lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Then the splintered table and the abused couch with stuffing pouring out. She hurried through the rest of the house toward the grunting of fighting soldiers. Daichi held a sword, fighting off one man while Mori and Hunny parried with another.

Mori kicked his and Hunny's quickly in the chest, throwing him back toward her. She didn't even think about it as she held her blade upright and plunged it straight through his chest. The enemy's sword clattered to the ground at the same time he started making choking noises and slid off her sword.

Namahi swallowed as she stared at the lifeless form. _'It's to protect your father,' _she told herself shakily, _'It was self-defense. Not murder.' _

By this time Daichi Hitachiin had managed to move in such a way that disarmed the man he was battling furiously with. Now he was pinned to the ground with a sword at his neck.

"Daichi, where are the others?" she asked softly.

"Cellar," he replied, eying the man under the threat of his sword who was muttering under his breath.

She nodded at Mori and Hunny. "Hunny, immobilize him will you?"

He nodded and whispered a quick, "_Congelo_," while pressed a finger to the forehead of his victim. The only thing moving now was the slight rise and fall of his chest and the shifting of his eyes. Namahi nodded in gratitude once more and slipped toward the cellar door.

"Dad! Yuzuha! Karime!" she yelled down, "It's safe!" When her father's face appeared, it turned worried in an instant when he took in the sight of her wounds.

"What happened to you!" he exclaimed wildly, immediately fretting over his darling daughter.

She sighed and gripped her side – which ironically was the same one where she'd been shot just weeks before. "I'm fine, Dad," she murmured, "Just a few scratches. Where's Rukatori?"

"Dead," Mori's voice intoned behind her. He gestured to where his body was lying just yards away. How had she not seen that before? Neither he nor Hunny seemed to think that it was odd that one of their charges had been able to defend himself just as well as any soldier should have been able to. Then, remembering her father's assigned guard, she ran back out and pushed two fingers to his neck, trying to find a pulse.

"Nothing," she mumbled sadly. Two dead. The twins' grandmother was shaking slightly while her daughter-in-law rubbed her back, also looking slightly pale.

"Where are the boys?" Yuzuha asked, looking frightened for her children's lives.

"They went up to the castle with an assassin prisoner who tried to kill me back at the house." Which reminded her. "Here Dad." She tossed him an onion and pepper. Ranka caught them, looking a tad bewildered.

Daichi collapsed on the ruined couch with a sigh, clutching his left shoulder where a small bloodstain was forming. Hunny hurried toward him with a charm in mind to stop the bleeding at least so he could bandage up the wound.

Namahi's various wounds started burning with the healing process as she rolled her neck. She looked behind her at the body of her man she'd slain just moments earlier. "They didn't expect anyone to be protected," she said softly, "They expected it to be easy with civilians that wouldn't fight back."

Mori placed a hand on her shoulder silently. She swallowed. "Do you two think that you can protect these four alone? I doubt they'll send more here specifically, but just in case..."

"Of course we can, Namahi," Hunny replied, looking more serious than cheerful for once. "But first, _Cruor Tela_," he added in a whispered, pressing a finger to her bleeding scratches.

"Thanks," she muttered, slipping out the door before her father could even protest.

–

The palace was a mess. Guards outside Tamaki's bedroom were scattered, either dead or unconscious. She counted quickly and drew in a quick breath as she thought about what she might find inside the room. She pushed the door open anyway.

A frazzled looking blonde Prince stood in the middle of the room clutching a sword so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Two Narians lay on the floor around him. She sighed with relief even as he turned toward her, weapon pointing threateningly at her.

"It's alright," she consoled softly, "It's just me. You're alright?"

He nodded, dropping his sword now. It clattered loudly as it hit the ground. They stared at each other for a moment. "You... You weren't kidding when you said they'd try to kill me," he finally stated shakily.

She nodded, frowning sadly at her friend. Then his eyes widened as he broke out into a run. "Dad!" He pushed past her before she could stop him.

"Tamaki!" she yelled, chasing after him. When she caught up to him, he was kneeling by his father, the assassins having fled already. "You idiot! What if the assassins were still here? Hmm?" she scolded angrily, kneeling next to him.

The Prince looked down at King Yuzuru, eyes wide and face pale. The Kiran King stared up at his only son, blood leaking a bit from his mouth while a bright red bloodstain blossomed on his chest. "Nama-hi," he gasped, "Don't... be so hard... on him." Tamaki seemed to be in shock.

Namahi blinked a few times and hurriedly took off her jacket, pressing it to his chest. A small groan fell from Yuzuru's lips. The blonde took his father's hand in both of his. She looked at them both desperately. "SOMEONE GET A HEALER!" she yelled toward the door. She didn't want to use her magic unless she had to since it drained her of energy faster than normal.

No one arrived and her friend was becoming paler by the second. Finally she sighed exasperatedly and pushed Tamaki away. She removed the jacket and unbuttoned the front of the Kiran King's shirt, pushing it aside. Touching the wound directly would have a better affect. "Na-Namahi, what're you doing?" Tamaki stuttered, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Saving your father's life," she retorted softly and she laid her hand over the hole in the King's chest.

"But... You... Aren't a healer..."

"Shh," she shushed him, trying to concentrate on working. The Prince fell silent. "_Cruor Tela,_" she whispered, concentrating hard. It'd been such a long time since she had used any kind of magic besides her automatic-healing. Blood flow from the chest slowed to a stop after several moments. The twins' mother had taught her several healing spells just in case, years ago. She was glad for that now.

Another popped into her head. One that would weaken her greatly but would probably save Yuzuru's life. A blood transfusion spell. She thought of the words quickly as she sliced her finger on the tip of a knife that she carried on her person at all times. She winced as it the edge cut into her skin and drew blood but quickly pressed it to wound as Tamaki gasped and tried to pull her hand away. "Tamaki! It's fine! Just... Let me work!"

She tugged her hand out of his grasp and let her blood mix with his father's. "I... I might pass out after this," she told the blonde next to her quietly. Without waiting for a reply she said, "_Transtuli_."

She felt her energy drain as the red glow flowed from her fingertips into the man laying in front of her. She slumped a bit and removed her hand from Yuzuru's chest. "There," she breathed, "Should hold him till healers can get here..."

Tamaki was staring at her. "Why... didn't you tell me you had magic blood in you?" he asked her curiously, still grasping his father's hand while he slipped into unconsciousness.

She sighed to herself. More secrets being spilled to people that didn't need to know. "It wasn't important," she mumbled, pulling her knees to her chest. Her eyes felt heavy and her head ached from the strain on her magical ability. "Besides. I rarely use it since it drains my energy so badly. Your mom's back in Charton right?"

"Yeah."

"And your grandmother?"

His face was paler than normal. "I think... Father moved her to a secure location when he learned of the planned attack." He glanced down at his father. "He'll be pissed when he wakes up."

She nodded in understanding, stomach clenching when she once again thought about how pissed _Kyoya _would be when – and if – she returned to Nari. Before either of them could say anything, guards flooded into the room and surrounded Namahi while pulling Tamaki away from her. She blinked a few times. And stood. The swords pointed at her closed in while the Prince waved his arms frantically. "No! No! Namahi's not a threat!" he cried.

The blades stayed pointed at her and she swallowed, glancing at her friend. "He saved my father!"

"How?" one asked who knew – or at least thought he knew – for a fact that Namahi had no magical abilities.

She sighed and slumped a bit with exhaustion. "Take a look for yourself," she grumbled softly, attempting to push past the surrounding men. One held his weapon to her throat. She just glared at him haughtily. "I'm a Kiran soldier. I'm Prince Tamaki's best friend and if you don't let me go home, you don't want to know what I'll do."

Stunned, the guy stepped aside and she took off out the door, yelling over her shoulder, "I think I know where the barrier is! Stay safe, Tamaki!"

–

Yes. She knew the perfect place to place a barrier. Secluded and not far from the castle. And easily accessible if you were dressed in a way that blended in with the townspeople, which she noticed most of the assassins had been.

"Hikaru, Kaoru!" she shouted into the Hitachiin household as soon as she reached it. "Hikaru, get Hunny and come with me. I think I know where the barrier is." She was exhausted from helping the King but wouldn't let herself rest until this blasted thing was closed.

She ran, not even paying attention to see if her comrades were following her.

She had to get to the old barn – yet another place that she, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki had explored when they were little. The barn that was only just on the outskirts of Miera but closer to the palace. It wasn't far from her house either.

She waited behind a tree, watching the doors of the barn while waiting for Hikaru and Hunny to catch up to her. "Namahi, what-?"

"Shh," she hissed angrily, glaring at Hikaru. "If anyone comes out, freeze them." Seconds after the words left her mouth, a man left the old, breaking down building.

"_Congelo!_" Hunny said quickly, spreading his fingertips out in front of him so they pointed at the unknown person. He froze in place, eyes looking over at them. Namahi drew a shuddering breath and strode forward.

"Kill him," she said softly, looking away as Hikaru didn't hesitate to do as she said. She hated bloodshed. She hated murdering these people. But if it would protect those that she cared about, she didn't care. She hurried toward the barn, pushing through the doors while her blade was held aloft. She felt weak and briefly wondered if she'd actually be able to help shut down the portal. "Hikaru, you've done this before. What's the spell?"

Inside it looked completely normal. Except for the slight chill and circular movement of the air that signaled there was a portal there. "_Addo is sub, iuguolo suus vox, clausus totus ex obduco, attero is prodigium._"

She nearly groaned out loud. She _hated _long spells. They were always a pain for her to remember and chant. She repeated it quickly, with Hikaru correcting her along the way. Then she ran through it again perfectly. She glanced at Hunny, who hadn't commented on not knowing that she had magic in her at all, to her relief. "Ready?" she asked him.

He nodded solemnly, a look of concentration on her face. "Hikaru," she mumbled, "If I pass out it's because I cast the blood transfusion spell on King Yuzuru already."

He glared at her pointedly but sighed when he received nothing in return.

Without a single signal but the bonded concentration all three had they started chanting the spell that would close the portal in front of them. "_Addo is sub, iuguolo suus vox, clausus totus ex obduco, attero is prodigium._"

Namahi's energy immediately drained enough that her knees couldn't hold her. Hunny and Hikaru, who's magic was better toned with all the practice they had, held strong. The air around them slowed and warmed until it grew completely still.

Everything was back to normal.

And the Moradian Princess allowed herself to be sucked into unconsciousness.

–

_Meanwhile in Nari... _

The Narian Royal family had gathered to watch their great take over through a looking glass that had been bewitched by The Witch to show it to them. Said woman was also there with them.

Kyoya hung in the back, not particularly wanting to be here watching the bloodshed that was about to happen on the surface of the glass. He just supremely hoped that Hanaru didn't do anything stupid while his entire family was watching.

The wizards setting up the magic barrier in the abandoned barn went brilliantly. Assassins started going through and headed toward their victims as the troops were arriving in Katari.

However, as they watched the assassins in each household, the looks on the faces of each of the watching family members grew more enraged and grim.

There were guards.

Everywhere. Soldiers. They were protecting every single damn family. The Ryles, the Karas, the Zerus, the Veradis, the Jotakis, the Teras, the Cortas, the Gretoras, _and _the Hitachiins. Every family was protected. And every assassin was eventually defeated.

They had several victories though. The Teras – which only consisted of a single male aristocrat in the first place – were wiped out. The Gretora grandmother and one of the sons was killed. The Zerus father was murdered before his protector managed to plunge his sword through the assassin's chest. Major Ryle died saving his younger sister from the blade of a Narian assassin.

But in Katari it also seemed like they had _known _they were coming. It was no surprise whatsoever.

And the final family in the royal court, the Mariokas. They were nowhere in sight. They weren't home when the attack happened. That was, until a soldier, whom they all assumed was Namahi Marioka came in to fetch some vegetables.

He fought the man that came after him. Fought him and ended up victorious, much to the Narian royal family's dismay.

"Wemo oda H mlki voy._ Now... You're going to tell me where the magical barrier is and how many assassins got through. Got it?" _

"Sanki mthfi._" _

"_Do I need to take you to the goddamn dungeon? Surely they'll be glad to torture you to death there. How many assassins?" _

"_Four."_

"_And the barrier? Tch... We'll find it eventually anyway. I think I'll turn you over to the royal guards anyway though. They need a little bit of fun every now and then anyway."_

"_Namahi!"_

And the Hitachiin twins showed up, seeming more concerned about the Marioka boy than they should have been. Kyoya perked up a bit when he heard Namahi's voice and concentrated intensely on the mirror. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

Then he saw it. Her face. _Hanaru's_ face. He glanced at his brothers, seeing if they noticed at all. They didn't seem to. Nor did his sister. Of course her hair was also pulled up so it could tuck under her hat too.

He _had _thought it was odd that the Fujinara name wasn't listed on the royal court. Now he knew why.

She had lied to him. About her name.

He almost laughed out loud in disbelief but refrained from doing so as to not draw attention to himself. The mirror followed the movement of Hanaru/Namahi as she ran toward the Hitachiin residence where they had earlier seen assassins enter the premises. Two of the soldiers there were killed. The other two were fighting. As well as the father of the Hitachiin twins. Kyoya gritted his teeth.

She had lied to him. About her relationships in Kira.

"_Dad! Yuzuha! Karime! It's safe!"_

She called all of them with such _familiarity_ that it was almost sickening. And it almost did when coupled with the idea that she had actually had the _nerve _to _lie _to his face.

And then she went to the palace.

"_It's alright. It's just me. You're alright?"_

"_You... You weren't kidding when you said they'd try to kill me."_

So she'd told them. She'd _told _them about it. _That's _what she had known when she left. Kyoya's eyes flashed angrily. She helped the Kiran Prince. Chased after him even when he ran off. And then he watched as they reached the King. The King who was practically lying in a pool of his blood by the time they reached him.

"_Na-Namahi, what're you doing?" _

"_Saving your father's life." _

"_But... You... Aren't a healer..." _

"_Shh. Cruor Tela. Tamaki! It's fine! Just... Let me work! I... I might pass out after this. Transtuli. There. Should hold him till healers can get here..." _

She had lied to him. About having magic in her.

That was _almost _the final straw. She saved the Kiran King from almost certain death. They all kept watching. "I want that bastard dead," Akito growled, pointing at Namahi. He hadn't recognized her as his brother's supposed lover yet apparently. Yuiichi hadn't either.

But no. It wasn't the final straw.

The final straw was when she lead two wizard-soldiers to the abandoned barn where the magic barrier was set up, killed the assassin that came out, and then helped them shut down the portal before passing out from magic-exhaustion.

Kyoya noticed Yuiichi's eyes flash as he shot him a look. He had finally recognized the girl, though Akito and Fuyumi hadn't, which was probably a good thing. The youngest Ohtori let a low growl slip from his lips.

She had _lied _to him. About _everything_.

The two brothers shared a look of absolute rage and nodded slowly.

Narian Prince Kyoya Ohtori was going to kill Namahi Marioka.

–

**A/N: The spells are Latin. Because... I really don't feel like making up another language. (AKA: I'm too LAZY to.) **

**Yeah... Kyoya's pissed. This was such a fun chapter to write. And I finished it rather quickly if I do say so myself too. Spruced up OTHD and posted it first though. Harhar. Because, I love torturing you guys. Yeah... that's it. **

**Kudos to: Enigmaticrose4, Koharu Veddette and Mrs. Ootori43ver (You... were close. But still not quite what the pains are about.) **


	11. 10: Rumors of Retaliation

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M Megs (Meganes Ultimate Fangirl)_

_Chapter 10 – Rumors of Retaliation_

When Namahi woke she found her father sitting by her bed and the twins standing diligently by the door as guards. Mori and Hunny were also in the room, chatting quietly and glancing at her every now and then. She blinked a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes and tried to sit up.

However, she was quickly stopped by her father. "It's better if you stay down at the moment," he murmured gently. He threw a quick look at the two 22-year-old soldiers in the room that looked almost like a glare. That made a slight panic rise in her chest.

"Do they... Do they know something?" she hissed in a low voice.

Ranka paused. "Perhaps," he replied softly. Her eyes widened. _Shybrar_. That was just great. They _knew _something.

Hunny seemed to notice that she was awake and bounded over with a surprising amount of energy for a man who probably should have been exhausted. "Feeling better, Nama-_kicsi_?"

She stared at him for a moment, recognizing the foreign honorific that he had tied to her name but not quite able to pin the country the language belonged to. Finally she asked in her normal blunt tone, "What language is that?"

"Gratweny," he replied with a sweet smile. She narrowed her eyes. The Gratweny language had died when Nari had taken over the country nearly 12 years ago. "Takashi and I are immigrants who fled when Nari invaded," he explained softly, receiving a nod of confirmation from the taller of the two. She blinked. So they were like her and her father. Chased out of their country like rodents while their race was destroyed.

Gratwen was a lesser country like Charton. Like Mora, they had been taken over by the Narians. Most Gratweniens had been killed during the time of the take over. So seeing two of them standing in front of her was just about as rare as having two Moradian families in the same town.

"Nama-_kicsi_... Are you a girl?"

Her jaw dropped while the twins' – probably eavesdropping as normal – heads swiveled around to stare at them. "H-how did you know?"

"Watching," Mori intoned from next to his cousin.

The smaller of the two nodded in confirmation and sat himself on the edge of her bed. "We noticed from watching how Hika and Kao-_kicsi_ reacted around you. They wouldn't have been so protective of another guy."

Again, she struggled to keep her jaw from dropping. This seemingly oblivious blonde boy had figured out her secret just by watching how the twins acted in her presence. That was a slightly frightening revelation.

But did it scare her more that they had figured it out this way or that it was oddly similar to the way that Kyoya had discovered the same thing?

She heaved a soft sigh and hung her head. "Yes, I'm a girl," she mumbled, ignoring her father's shocked cries trying to deny it. He'd been worried enough when he'd found out that the twins had come across this years before, regardless of whether they were the sons of his trusted guard.

Hunny's face broke out in the biggest grin. Judging by the look on her father's face she could predict what he was thinking as he stared at the face of the Hanizuka male. _'Oh no! That grin is the grin of evil! He's going to turn us in to King Yuzuru! Haruhi will be put to death! I'll be left all alone! Nooooo!' _

She shook her head at her insane parental figure while Hunny spoke. "Don't worry Nama-_kicsi_. We won't tell!"

Her father fainted right on the spot.

–

After recovering for a few days at home, Namahi went to the palace to see how Tamaki and his father were doing. She kicked a pebble down the road merrily, humming softly to herself. All thoughts of anything that might be bad completely empty from her mind.

Romesa was outside the gates, as if the King hadn't been mortally wounded just days before. She greeted him with a gentle nod and a smile. "King Yuzuru's gettin' betta by the day. All thanks to ya."

She continued on her way through the huge front doors all the way up to where Tamaki was sitting at his desk, reading a letter with a frown on his face. "Tamaki...?" she questioned softly with a knock on the door.

He jumped and looked up at her wildly. "Ah... Namahi."

"Something wrong?"

"No," he said, a little too quickly, "Just reading a letter from Mother. Seems that she's ill again." He shuffled around on his desk some more, probably to hide the papers. She scowled.

"That's too bad," she murmured, playing along with him for now, "And your father? How's he?"

His face broke out in a grin. "Come see for yourself! It's great! He'll be able to move around by himself again by the end of the week!"

"That's wonderful!" she replied with relief while her friend led her down the hallway to where his father was resting. "How do you feel, Your Highness?" she asked as she stood next to his bed.

"Better," Yuzuru replied quietly, "Thank you by the way, Namahi."

She smiled and bowed politely. "No need to thank me. I was only doing my duty."

He returned her smile and pointed at his son. "Tamaki. I need to talk to you about your mother and grandmother." Tamaki's cheerful grin decreased a few watts as he nodded and stepped closer to his father's side. Namahi nodded and let herself out, eavesdropping quietly at the door. _"You got the letter about your mother being ill I assume?" _

"_Yes father," _her best friend replied stiffly.

"_She's sick, Tamaki. Terribly so. The healers magic isn't working any longer on her. They don't know what it is. All they can do is try and ease the pain." _The King paused a moment. _"I want you to go to her." _

She could imagine the look of shock on the blonde's face at that current moment without having to look at it. He hadn't seen his mother in years. Had rarely even had any contact with her at all aside from the few letters the two tossed back and forth behind his grandmother's back. _"What... What about grandmother?" _

"_I'll take care of her. If... If your mother's dying, she deserves to see her son again before that happens." _Yuzuru's voice was wavering slightly when he talked of the death of the woman he loved, understandably. _"You'll leave tomorrow morning, understood?" _

"_Yes, Dad. Will you be accompanying me?" _

"_No. I must stay here and hold down the fort. However, once you return I'll visit Anne-Sophie myself separately." _

"_Alright." _Silence came from the other side of the door as the two probably looked at each other. _"Dad, what're you going to do about Nari?" _

A soft sigh left the Kiran King's mouth. _"They have the Eastern Tip. They're on the verge of seizing the Marshes as well. They tried to kill us. I'm not sure what to do anymore. General Fusawa is pushing an assassination attempt on _their _royal family, though." _

Tamaki was hesitating as he listened to this. _"Are you going to go through with it?" _

"_Like I said... I'm not sure. Get some sleep and pack your bags. Let me worry about the war." _

Namahi, hearing the dismissal of the Kiran Prince, hurried away from the door and down the hall again to Tamaki's room. She heard the door down the hall open and close again moments after she shut Tamaki's bedroom door.

All she could think was: _An assassination attempt on the Ohtoris? _

–

The danger out of the way and the funeral for those that had died finished, the living soldiers that had come to Miera as protection for the royal court returned to camp. Where the General was waiting for a messenger from the King. "Marioka, in my tent pronto," he instructed as he passed the troop that was entering the campground. Namahi saluted with a nod and hurried to her tent quickly to change into something more comfortable.

When she entered the General's tent she didn't bother standing at attention but she had a feeling that she was about to be accused of something or another. "Marioka, your registration papers say that you have no magic in you."

She swallowed. Perfect. So she was going to be accused of being a liar because she'd saved King Yuzuru. "Yessir," she replied dryly.

"Then how did you use _magic _to heal the King?"

She bit back the witty retort that was hanging on the tip of her tongue. Instead she muttered, "I... do have magic blood. I prefer not to use it though unless in times of great need. It drains me more than it should, sir. I wanted to only be known as a simple soldier instead of a wizard."

Fusawa nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face and hand on his chin. "That's understandable. And the army can hardly be mad since King Yuzuru probably would have died if you hadn't acted so quickly." He paused and regarded her with a slight fondness before continuing. "Due to your spy work over in Nari and your bravery in Miera, I'm promoting you to Corporal."

Her mouth fell open as the older man took a seat behind his desk, pulling a pin out of a drawer and handing it to her. "Th-thank you, sir!" she stuttered, still slightly in shock. The General chuckled softly and waved his hand to dismiss her.

"Send in Pike, will you?"

"Yessir!" She exited the tent feeling rather pleased with herself yet slightly apprehensive at the same time. How would she refuse another spy mission to Nari now that she was higher ranked?

She couldn't go back. Going back would practically be suicide. But refusing a direct order for a mission was also out of the question.

And what the hell would she tell Kyoya if she did return? _"Oh... My father and myself were in danger, I couldn't just stand there and let my best friend's father die, and I didn't find it necessary for other people to die"_? She snorted mentally. Yeah right. That would fly really well with the Narian Prince.

"Pike," she said, catching the man's arm as he passed by her. "General Fusawa requests your presence in his tent immediately, sir."

He nodded, smiling at her. "Alright, Marioka. Thanks. And congratulations on making corporal."

News traveled quickly apparently. But perhaps Pike had been discussing it with Fusawa. He was his second-in-command after all. It was completely logical if he had known prior to her knowing.

She couldn't help but feel a sly bit of pride sneaking its way into her heart. She'd been promoted! Yet, a bit of something else gnawed at her too. Was that... regret? Or shame for lying to her superiors? She brought a hand to her chin in thought, not really paying attention where she was going until she found herself inside her tent with the twins staring at her eagerly yet apprehensively at the same time. "What did he want, Haruhi?" they chorused.

She flashed the pin that she was still fingering in her hands quickly and mumbled, "I was promoted."

They applauded quickly, faces breaking out in grins. "Great!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"We thought that maybe," Hikaru paused, looked at his brother then continued, "Maybe he'd found something out."

"Maybe that he was going to punish you somehow."

She snorted. "Yeah right. Have you guys noticed that the General's taken a liking to me? And you guys as well? I doubt that he'd punish me for something as trivial as not mentioning that I had magic blood on my registration."

The two of them shrugged and snickered just a little, seeming at ease once more.

–

At the same time, Kyoya was having a little chat with his eldest brother. They were both still pissed at their supposed 'spy''s betrayal.

"What are you going to do about her?" Yuiichi demanded briskly, pacing back and forth. Kyoya sat in a chair by his desk watching him with hard eyes and his cheek resting on the palm of his hand in thought. At his brother's voice he looked up.

"I don't know," he retorted sarcastically, "Kill her maybe? Just like I would anyone else?"

The older Ohtori glared. "Sarcasm is not needed here, _Ulelit Uherbro_," he muttered, "What if she doesn't return?"

Kyoya faltered. He had thought about that. He had thought about that very hard, in fact. If he were her, he wouldn't dare come back to Nari unless he had a death wish. Which he was pretty sure that Hanaru – _Namahi_. **Haruhi. **_**Whatever **__–_ didn't, considering how fiercely she had fought off the assassins at her home in Kira. "If she doesn't return, then obviously she isn't a problem anymore. She'll stay in Kira – hopefully get herself killed – and if she stays there, there's no way that she'll get information from us."

His brother scoffed softly and rolled his eyes. "I don't mean _that_. I mean," he paused, sighed and ran a hand through his raven hair in exasperation before continuing, "If she doesn't come back, that means that any intelligence we may have gotten from her that came directly from the Prince is going to be unavailable."

This time, it was Kyoya's turn to roll his eyes. "We can find someone else."

"Someone else who's the Kiran Prince's close friend?"

"Who says that we need someone who's the Prince's friend? All his plans go through his father and the Generals anyway. Sergeant Wari should be a useful enough asset for information," the younger shot back quickly. Was Yuiichi trying to defend Namahi by coming up with important purposes for her? Unbelievable.

Yuiichi shook his head quickly and waved his hand as if to say, 'Never mind.' "She could always sneak back into the country and enroll as a regular soldier under a different name."

Now that, he hadn't thought of. Well he had... Just not in depth. "She won't do that," Kyoya grunted softly, standing and striding over to his balcony.

"And how do you know that?" Yuiichi countered, following so he was standing directly behind him. "She's betrayed you once already, Kyoya. You can't trust your previous judgment of her."

"Then I'll send a damn description of her to all the recruitment camps along with all the names she goes by! I'm still convinced that she won't do that though. She's too... careful. She wouldn't risk one of us seeing her there and pointing her out," he half-burst, throwing a hand on the air during his little rant.

Yes, he was pissed at her. But more because of the fact that she'd lied to him than anything else. Hadn't they established some small shred of a trust system in the little bit of time that she'd been there? And she'd breached it. Kyoya closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'll take care of her. Don't you worry about it, _Hbi Uherbro_. I told you that you wouldn't have to cover for me if I got in a hole, and you won't."

"I trust that you'll fulfill that promise."

–

The rumors were everywhere by the end of the week. Rumors that there was going to be a huge attack happening on Nari soon enough. It was enough to make Namahi jittery and anxious.

The part of her that was the worst though was the peace-keeper part. It was screaming for her to run back to Nari and inform Kyoya regardless of whether or not he would kill her. But she wouldn't. She wouldn't go back and practically walk herself to the gallows. She wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to walk to her death.

A few days later, worse rumors reached her ears.

She was eating with the twins, chuckling as they staged an argument and flicked beans at each other. Then the twins were called away to the General's tent and she was there alone with Hunny and Mori who both chatted happily with her.

"The 'Arian 'oyals sure 'ot th' General mad 'his 'ime."

She barely even caught the snatch of conversation from a few tables behind her through the loud noise of the mess hall. But the voice continued as she kept forking food into her mouth, "I 'ear tha' he's goin' ta send assassins o'er ther' an' 'ave 'em lay low for a bit 'hen 'ill th' 'oyal family."

Her fork dropped from her hand and clattered loudly against her mostly empty tray. Hunny and Mori glanced at her strangely. "Something wrong, Namahi?" Hunny asked, shooting her a friendly smile.

She glanced at the two of them and shook her head. "N-Nothing. Just suddenly feel kind of sick is all." Hunny's mouth turned down in a frown while Mori's remained passive. "I'll talk to you two later," she added in a mumble, standing quickly and taking her tray to dump in the garbage.

She ran into the twins on the way to their tent so that she could think for a bit. "Namahi?" Hikaru stopped her, looking concerned. "You alright? You're a bit pale."

"Fine," she muttered distractedly, "Just need to lay down for a bit."

They both nodded, though Kaoru gave her a lingering stare. "General wants to see you," he told her quietly. "And we're leaving immediately. Be back in a few weeks." The older twin nodded to confirm this.

"Ahh. Good luck then." She sent them a soft smile and didn't ask about the mission. They would have mentioned it if she were allowed to know.

"Aye, aye, _Corporal_," they saluted in joking unison and hurried toward their tent while she headed toward General Fusawa's.

–

"You've probably heard from the rumors running around camp that we're sending assassins to kill the Narian royal family."

The first words to leave her superior's lips. She nodded in confirmation and let him continue.

"This rumor is true. However, we need to make everyone think that it isn't in case there are spies lurking in the camp."

Her stomach flipped, thinking about Kyoya and his sister who had both been very accommodating while she had been there despite her discomfort with the former's interrogations. "How do you propose we do that, Sir?" she asked politely.

"You, won't have a part in it. The higher ups and I, are going to put an end to it. You, however, are going to go to Nari, tell the Third Prince that there will be an assassination attempt in a month and then kill him in two weeks right before you come home." His steely dark eyes pierced hers as he said this.

It took all her will-power not to choke up and give herself away. "S-Sir. All due respect, but I'm not an assassin," she stuttered, blinking a few times in surprise while on the inside she was thinking a mile a minute with her heart beating faster than ever before. How the _hell _could she kill Kyoya?

"Spies can easily be converted to assassins, Marioka," Fusawa chuckled.

Shit. She was quickly being shoved between a rock and a hard place. She resisted the urge to sigh in frustration and muttered, "I see."

"You'll leave immediately with the twins who are doing an undercover co-op in Uwarfa. This is top secret, Marioka. You aren't to tell anyone of what you're going to do. They must think it's another spy op."

"Yessir!" she saluted quickly, taking that as a sign of dismissal. He called her back though and she turned, trying to hide the look of absolute dread that was fighting its way onto her face.

"One more thing, Namahi," he said softly, "Good luck, Corporal."

"Thank you, Sir," she replied dryly.

–

_'It's one thing killing those damn assassins in self-defense,' _she thought dazedly as she packed the bag she was going to take to Nari. _'It's another thing entirely to actually murder someone that you know. And how the hell am I going to convince him not to kill me?' _

The twins, having heard that she would be traveling with them, were happier than could be. But they also noticed the gloomy daze that seemed to be surrounding her. "Oi, Namahi!" they called, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she muttered, "Just a bit tired."

She glanced at Kaoru, her eyes drained. He seemed to understand what she was going through, seeing as his eyes were soft with sympathy. Hikaru was completely oblivious to their shared looks.

They left before the hour was up.

–

They camped outside the Wajima Forest, trying to ignore the growls of hungry beasts as they did so, taking turns keeping watch throughout the night.

Namahi could see the glowing yellow and red eyes of the things that lived in there as they stalked back and forth, probably waiting for her to turn her back. She caught sight of one thing that ventured out, oblivious to the humans standing within fighting distance. She held her breath as it passed.

A huge dog-like creature with black leathery skin and fangs nearly as long as the short-sword she carried on the back of her belt as a back-up. It passed by them, headed in the direction of Charton where another forest took up the northern section. She let out a breath as she lost sight of it in the distance and turned back to the Wajima.

Once her shift was over, she woke Kaoru and settled down in the place that he'd abandoned on the floor. Exhausted, she slept.

–

A few hours after sunrise, when they were sure that the beasts of the forest had high-tailed it back to where they came from, they ventured into the trees in the direction of Nari.

They moved at a leisurely pace since they had all day and exited about an hour before nightfall, stopping in a small village and renting a room in an old inn for the night instead of camping on a hillside outside. Dressed in the clothes of Narian farmers, they merely looked like travelers.

By afternoon the next day they'd reached Uwarfa where she left the twins, with a smile and a small embrace. Both of them cast good luck charms on her which she thanked them for and gave them some of her own before continuing on her way to the castle, hoping to reach it by nightfall.

–

She could already guess that the guards at the front gate of the Narian Palace wouldn't let her in. Thus, she put her military and spy skills to sneak in. A loose drainage grit in a section of the walls surrounding it provided a useful entrance.

Then all she had to do was get past the patrol guards, in through the servants quarters and up to Kyoya's bedroom.

Easier said than done. Instead of a moat surrounding the castle, there was an open grassy field about 400 yards long until it gave way to either walls or garden. Every single foot of the fields were in sight of a watch tower and a patrol passed by every 15 minutes. The watchmen rotated every hour. She'd have less than two minutes to run the 400 yards to the garden on the other side.

She kept her eyes on the closest watch tower, waiting until the guard standing there disappeared then looked each way to make sure a patrol wasn't on the way. Then she crouched low and darted through the grass as quickly as she could.

Heart beating rapidly in her chest, she slunk along the wall on the other side until she came to a small garden which she slipped through, keeping her eyes open for guards. She found a servants entrance not far from there and ran through and up the stairs, navigating until she found a familiar hall.

She didn't run into anyone, which she found slightly odd.

She stopped in front of Kyoya's bedroom door and caught her breath as she knocked. A muffled, "Come in," came through the door. She slipped through the door and closed the door behind her.

"Kyoya," she breathed. She caught sight of the several other people behind her in uniforms and faltered, wide-eyed.

"Hello Hanaru," the Third Narian Prince murmured, a certain threatening glint in his eye, "Or should I say, _Namahi_."

–

**A/N: Kicsi = little in Hungarian. Again... I got lazy with my language-making. I figured that Hunny needed some sort of pet name to give her. But I couldn't think of anything. So I went to an online translator, typed in 'little' and scanned through the list until I found a word that I liked enough. **

**I'm telling you... TRANCE. IT'S THE CURE TO WRITER'S BLOCK. As long as it's playing I can write without stop. AMAZING 3 **

**Kudos to: Xaldin's Girlfriend, Twilightrewriter, Enigmaticrose4, BlackestNight BrightestDay, Mrs. Ootori43ver, XxNightShroudxX, and an anonymous reviewer who yelled at me to update (Har. I loved that. It was GREAT. And it shocked me back to my senses and forced me to find something to conquer that writer's block. THANKS!)**

**That's quite a list... I LOVE YOU GUUUUUYS. **


	12. 11: Consequences

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 11 - Consequences_

_'I'm not scared,' _she told herself repeatedly in her head as she stared at what seemed to be half a dozen guards, _'I'm not scared. He's pissed, but I'm not scared because I have a mission to do.' _She drew a shuddering breath, reaching for her sword. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kyoya growled under his breath. The moment she'd moved he himself had pulled up a bow with an arrow set and pointed at her.

She froze and stared him in the eye. "_Vyro Inesshig_, just listen to me for a moment."

"No," he stated coldly, "I'm not going to hear any more of your _Mljtbush_." His eyes were practically on fire.

"Kyoya, please," she whispered, "Just a second."

"No." Much to her dismay his aim didn't waver from her throat for a second. "Why'd you come back? To spite me? To die? To kill me?"

She shook her head. "No," she mumbled, "God, no. I wouldn't come back to spite or kill you. And I don't plan on dying either."

He scoffed angrily. "You're such a goddamn liar. _Sestar she_." The guards behind him surged forward at the same time he lowered his bow to his side. She took the opportunity to draw her own sword and strike down the first guard she could. She knew there were too many of them. If she could get to Kyoya, she could get them to back off.

She could take on two of them at a time, three at the most, but all of the five remaining ones at the same time?

She had absolutely no chance.

She smacked one of them in the head with the butt of her sword right as another grabbed her left arm, yanking it behind her back. She tried to spin and hit him too but another grabbed her other wrist and twisting it. With a small cry, her sword clattered to the ground. She was forced to her knees in front of him, wincing at the strain on her arms. "Kyoya..."

"Don't call me by my name alone," he spat, "I never remember giving permission for that."

"Your Highness, then," she snapped impatiently. "You have to lis-,"

"_Leta she ou iet ogeondu_," Kyoya interrupted loudly. She was dragged toward the door, kicking out at the captors to try and free herself without avail.

"Dammit, Kyoya! You're in danger! Why else would I come back?" she yelled back through his bedroom door. He ignored her, the door closed. She stopped fighting and shut her eyes.

–

They threw her in a grimy old cell again, slamming the iron bars shut behind her. She pulled herself up slowly, pulling her knees to her chest and closing her eyes. She gathered her thoughts carefully, assessing her situation in a way only she could.

One: Kyoya saw her as a lying traitor.

Two: She had been given orders to warn him of the assassination and then kill him herself earlier than was said.

Three: She had been planning to follow those orders to a T.

Four: Since Kyoya saw her as a lying traitor, he didn't trust her. Therefore he wouldn't listen.

Five: She was going to die because he was an arrogant bastard.

Her eyes blinked open. She was going to die. That was it. She groaned softly and pushed herself to her feet, gripping the bars on the window lightly. She kicked the wall lightly with her toe.

She was angry.

Angry at herself.

Angry at Kyoya.

Angry at the General.

Hell, she was angry with all of Filandria.

And she hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to her father or Tamaki. And it seemed that the twins' good luck charms hadn't worked. "Dammit," she whispered under her breath, kicking the wall a bit harder. "Dammit, dammit, _DAMMIT_." With each swear her kicks got harder until she heard a satisfying crack of her toe jamming painfully.

"_Shutyra arimorta baspulte. Shutyra Haruhi,_" she whispered under her breath. She fell to her knees, closed fists sliding down the wall in front of her while her forehead rested against it. Her right toe was throbbing where she'd jammed it. She ignored it, seeing nothing but her father's face in her mind. "_Sha aer somar, Faetha._"

–

Kyoya really didn't think that she was stupid enough to come back. Apparently though, his character judging skills were getting rusty. He'd thought she was smart. He shut his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

Now he couldn't just leave her future to fate. Now he had to kill her, which he hadn't wanted to do. His brother was right. She was a valuable asset to them. It would be an incredible waste to just kill her.

Ever since she had told him the true identity of the Corporal that he'd put to death he couldn't seem to just make the split-second decision to kill Kiran prisoners of war. Like she'd somehow tapped into his long-locked-out conscience by saying that he had been Kiran General Fusawa's son.

Why did he always save her?

Why did he almost instantaneously _trust _her?

Why was it so hard to ignore her?

He growled under his breath with frustration and set off for the dungeon where the little worm was probably swearing her head off.

–

She was mumbling under her breath. But it wasn't Kiran or Narian. Kyoya blinked a few times catching the words _shutrya pritnor_. Was that... _Moradian_? "Speak Moradian fluently?" his tongue asked before he could stop it. Curse her ability to spring his curiosity.

She twisted around to face him in surprise, her voice ceasing immediately. She didn't say anything, just stared at him. Finally she muttered, "What the hell are you doing down here?"

He stood just outside the barred door of her cell. A cold look was plastered on his face. "You didn't answer my question. Are you fluent in Moradian?"

Haruhi pursed her lips and glared at him. "Yes. Why would you care?"

"Interesting... Only people I was aware that know the language are royalty and native Moradians. Considering you're Kiran and not technically the kind of royalty that would know it, it's odd." She closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of his voice. What did it matter if he found out she was Moradian now? She was going to die. It didn't at all. Then, a light bulb seemed to turn on above his head. "Unless... You aren't Kiran. Which would mean that you lied to me about _another _thing."

"I didn't lie to you about anything," she spat angrily, "I merely withheld information."

His knuckles were turning white from how tight he was gripping the bars. He nodded at the guard near the door and stepped back carefully. When he stepped in, the guard moved to step in with him but he held up a hand. "She won't try anything if she's smart." The door closed behind him. "Why'd you do it?"

"Does it matter? You're just going to kill me."

He gritted his teeth. The ignorance was this woman was going to drive him absolutely crazy one day. "Answer the question, Namahi."

"No. It doesn't matter."

"Why'd you come back then?" She stayed silent, knowing that he wouldn't trust a word that she said. He sighed and kicked her shoe lightly. She glared up at him. "No explanation? No half-drawn together excuse?"

Her lips parted to let out a short doubtful breath. He wouldn't listen to her. "I came back," she murmured, "because you're in danger. If you'd been listening earlier you'd know that."

He snorted. "And why would you care about _me_? You just betrayed me in the biggest way you possibly could and you expect me to believe you?"

"I knew it," she breathed, shaking her head. "Forget it. You're just... Never mind."

"Exactly. I shouldn't believe you. Because you're a traitor. Because you lied to me."

"What did I ever lie to you about?"

"Your name for one."

"Hanaru _is _my name. One of them," she retorted.

"How many names can one person possibly have?"

"Depends on the person. I have three. And you know them all now."

His face was blank for a moment, his eyes still cold. "Second, your relationship in Kira. Those twins."

"I told you that I had friends in the army. And I told you that I've known Prince Tamaki since I was eight."

"Your magic! I asked you directly if you had magical abilities and you said no!" he snapped, squatting down next to her. "You lied to me about everything. I'm half-betting that the entire story about your sister and mother was a complete lie to."

"It wasn't important. I rarely ever use it except for healing myself anyway, which is automatic. The story, was partially true. I never had a sister but my mother _was _killed. Only it was when I was a baby," she murmured, spilling everything since it wasn't likely that she was going to live.

He stared at her, an odd expression on his face that was torn half-way between curiosity and suspicion. "Why are you telling me this now? You realize that I won't spare you because you've decided to be truthful now, right?"

"I know," she answered softly, "That's why I'm telling you. Because I'm going to die." She leaned her head back against the wall and stared straight into his face.

He snorted harshly, glaring at her. "Do you have any clue what you did when you told them of our plan? How many people died?" She was starting to lose her temper. She pursed her lips to keep from snapping at him. "Roughly 2,000 soldiers. Nearly 1,000 civilians." She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and attempted to keep her face passive. "I thought you were concerned by high casualty rates. If you'd kept your _mouth _shut, that number would have been significantly less."

"I know very well the consequences of my actions, _Vyro Inesshig_," she snapped quickly, "I am regretful but I know that won't waver _your _decision to put me to death."

"Why did you come back? You aren't stupid and you must have known I'd be angrier than anything on the planet. The only thing I can think of is to murder me."

She scoffed. "So you think that I'm a murderer now?" She paused. "The assassins were one thing. Self-defense. Killing an unarmed man who hasn't attacked me at all is completely different."

Kyoya, who had been containing his anger as much as he could as to not resort to physical violence, half-rolled his eyes and muttered, "So, if I were to attack you like this," he paused and kicked her roughly in the stomach. She gasped and fell toward the floor, back sliding against the wall. She grasped her stomach, groaning softly. "you'd retaliate?"

"Yes," she growled, "I would." She had to make him listen to her. She was sure that there were other assassins waiting near the castle. They were probably waiting to strike at the same time she did. An image of his sister's kind face popping in the door flashed in her mind. And a faceless 5-year-old that she'd never met but knew existed as Kyoya's niece. She wasn't just protecting Kyoya, she was protecting them. Even if she had to kill him later. She was following her orders.

Fast as she could and quicker than he ever expected, she hooked her feet around the back of his, yanking them toward her, swiping his legs out from under him. He tumbled to the floor ungraciously. She scrambled up and pulled the sword that was sheathed on his belt out of it's place, pinning him down and holding it to his throat.

Kyoya stared at her with murder in his eyes while the guard outside started to unlock the door. "You move and I'll kill him!" she yelled at him before realizing that he didn't speak Kiran. "_Puy wemo oda Mli mlki nhi!_" The guard outside the small cell froze. She kept her eyes on the Prince under her, sword still pointed at his throat. "That goes for you too," she whispered then called to the guard, "_Ueps xaya somf iet pord_."

"I knew you only came back to kill me," the man pinned underneath her uttered softly, "Do it. I've caused you grief. It would only make sense that you would seek vengeance for that."

"Please," she scoffed, glaring into his eyes. The guard was yelling for help. "_IUTS RU!_" She could already hear rushed footsteps headed their way and cursed softly. "This seems to be the only way that I can get you to listen."

"So talk," he grit out through his teeth.

"Tch... _Baspulte_," she mumbled, resisting the urge to convert to her native tongue so she could speak faster. "I did what I did to protect myself and my father. I knew you were going to kill me when I got back but I didn't care. Because _my father is all I have left_. When I lied to you or withheld the truth it was because I was_protecting myself_. I didn't know if you were trustworthy or not."

"_Sopd pury bponwe!_" She glanced over at the bars quickly to find three different soldiers with bows and arrows drawn and pointed at her. She laughed a bit harshly.

"_J oca mlki nhi gorebe puy oca oagema pt potsh ne!_" she bit back, pushing the tip of her stolen blade a bit closer to her captive's neck as if to prove a point. "Frankly, I'm surprised you let yourself be pinned down by a_woman_," she added softly to him, eyes glinting.

"I didn't _let _you. You forced me down by threat of death," he retorted sharply.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and continued her little speech. "I came back for one reason and one reason alone."

"To kill me."

"No," she spat, "God. Don't be so... so _fetor out tersec_. I did _not _return to this hell hole that makes my chest hurt just to _kill you_. I came back to warn you that you're in danger. You may be a _bastard _but that doesn't mean you deserve to die."

"Why warn me?"

"God... I thought you were _smart_." Her torso throbbed where he'd kicked her and she couldn't help adding, "And you probably bruised my ribs. _Baspulte_. I'm warning you... Because I'm loyal to you."

"Right," he snorted, "And you're just holding a blade to my throat because you care."

"Exactly. Because _this_," she wiggled her right arm which was holding the sword briefly, "appears to be the only way to get you to listen to me. I'm loyal to you and Tamaki. You hear me? I'd just as quickly betray him as I did you. If it had been _your _father dying, I'd save him too. I came here to save your sorry ass. Princess Fuyumi and Prince Yuiichi too."

She'd been ignoring the guards shouting at her until another, apparently a superior, appeared and regarded the scene. She continued, passing a glance quickly at the new arrival. She almost fell over when she realized it was Yuiichi. "Continue, Namahi," he prompted, looking angrier than Kyoya had the first time she saw him.

She huffed softly and pretended that he wasn't there once more. "Kyoya, there are assassins planted everywhere. In disguise. I don't know who they are or where exactly any of them are. I just know that they're here and they're all assigned to a different person. I-I just barely was able to come back here."

She glanced over to look at Yuiichi's hard expression. He murmured something to one of the guards that she couldn't hear. She turned her gaze back to Kyoya. "You heard that right?"

"Yes," he said softly, swallowing.

"And you'll take the necessary precautions?"

"Of course."

Slowly, she lowered the sword in her hand to the ground, keeping her eye on his face. "You can hang me now or whatever. I don't care. I just needed you to listen to that," she murmured as she stood.

Something pierced her side. She winced but saw it coming. "I let him go and you shoot me, _Vyro Inesshig_? I was never going to hurt him. That would be counterproductive." Kyoya pulled himself up.

"Kyoya," Yuiichi ignored her and addressed his brother while she allowed herself to fall to her knees and attempt to yank the arrow out of her side. "Get out here. Now." The younger pretended like he hadn't heard anything from his elder and knelt down next to Haruhi.

"It'll heal by itself if I pull it out, right?" he murmured to her. She nodded. "Brace yourself."

"Kyoya!"

She laid down on her side. He placed his hand near the arrow, his other wrapped around the tail of it. She got ready for the pain that was sure to come. He yanked, she shut her eyes and cried out softly. A second yank and it was out. "Dammit," she hissed, sitting up again. She removed her jacket and pressed it to the wound to soak up the blood. It started burning with the signs of healing. "Thanks."

The Third Prince nodded and breathed, "I'll be back," as he stood and exited the small cell.

She looked after him. Phase 1 of her mission complete.

And maybe she wouldn't die quite yet.

–

When Kyoya returned, he was still angry but not at her. "_Qeno ui_," he ordered softly. The guard hesitated and muttered something inaudible, "_J otdo seca iatw Yuiichi mdto puy. _Qeno ui." Reluctantly, he complied to the order. "Come here," the Prince murmured, gesturing to her.

Haruhi struggled to her feet, cringing as her side ached ever so slightly. She managed to get her way over to him. The guard once again protested but a single look from him silenced her.

He didn't know how she did it, but she'd convinced him not to kill her.

Again.

He took her arm carefully and led her out of the dungeon, much to her surprise. "You're telling me everything as soon as we get to my chambers. You hear me? Everything. And not goddamn lies either. The truth."

–

"What about your brother?" she asked softly from where she was sitting on his bed, holding her soaked red jacket. "I can't get this damn thing to stop bleeding." And she was light-headed to prove it.

"He'll cool off. He shouldn't have shot you. Lie down," he replied shortly, adjusting himself to face her better.

"What?"

"Lie. Down," he repeated slowly, pushing her shoulder a bit to prompt her to lay down. She did so, with a bit of bewilderment. He pressed his fingers to her side, ignoring the fact that he was getting blood on them. "_Cruor Tela_," he whispered. She stared at him. "You aren't the only one with magic that you rarely use."

"Thank you," she whispered, letting the healing take over the wound.

"Anyway, don't worry about Yuiichi. I talked to him. As long as you tell me the truth about everything from now on, you'll be safe." She nodded cautiously. "Now, you speak Moradian fluently because you _are _Moradian, correct?"

"Yes. My father and I are two of the few survivors. Your father... That's why I was so disinclined to tell you anything."

"You were afraid I might turn you in to my father." She bobbed her head a bit. "Understandable. However, I won't. Because I believe that what _Uherfa_ tried to do to the Moradian race was unneeded. The Witch?"

"She killed my mother and cursed me because I'm my father's daughter," she said bitterly, "And I wasn't lying about the curse. Chances are that if she sees me, she'll kill me."

"You have a lot of people out to get you don't you?"

"You could say that," she mumbled in good humor.

"The Hitachiins," he stated, looking down on her since she had stayed lying down.

"Known them as long as I can remember. Five of eight people over there that know I'm a girl."

"Who're the other three?"

"My father, Hunny, and Mori."

"How long have you known the other two?"

"Roughly five months. They knew my gender just from watching Hikaru and Kaoru's protectiveness over me. They're like big brothers. It's just a little bit ridiculous."

"Why don't you use your magic?"

She bit her lip. "Why don't you use yours?" she retorted softly.

He stared at her. "You're the one being questioned here." She gave him a look and he sighed. "You know that traditionally in Filandria there's only one child in a family who has well-conditioned magic right?" Her head bobbed carefully. "Traditionally, it's the oldest so Yuiichi's that child. Fuyumi, Akito and I have it but we don't know how to use it as well. No one taught us besides the minor spells that could keep us alive if the situation arose. But you're an only child so you can't use that excuse."

She looked at him. It made sense. With the twins it was similar, though because they were twins they both got the conditioned magic. Kaoru just chose to keep his more under wraps than his brother's. "I got my magic from my mother. And she was never around to teach me. You know how only parents can _really _teach their children. Dad... doesn't know anything about magic. He's never had a drop of magic in him. So... I learned minor things from the twins' mother, learned on the fly to close the portal, but that's it. And it weakens me so horribly that's it hardly worth it."

"That makes sense," he murmured softly, "One more question, then I suppose we'll retire to bed. Which of your three names should I call you?"

She blinked a few times. "Haruhi," she replied with a small smile.

He just sat there and regarded her quietly for a moment. "I know I've heard that name somewhere. Why did you choose it?"

"You said that was the last question."

"Answer it."

"Moradian Princess's name. Makes me feel somehow connected to my heritage," she half-lied smoothly. "Now are you going to show me to my room?"

"You're already there, Haruhi." She stared at him, not quite comprehending what he was telling her. "Akito thought it was odd that you weren't sharing a room with me since he thinks that we're lovers. Well, and guests of Father's have taken your regular chambers."

She swore under her breath. "So I'm sleeping here?" He nodded. "In your bed?" He nodded again. She pursed her lips. "You better stay on your side of the bed or God so help me I will kick you right off the end."

He chuckled as he slid under the covers. "Or you could sleep on the floor."

"Three weeks of sleeping on the floor? I'm a soldier, but even _I _get tired of that after awhile," she mumbled in reply, crawling up slowly on the opposite side to hunker down too. He sat up a bit and blew out the candle on the beside table. The dim light in the room was extinguished, leaving a light haze from the partially opened curtains. Haruhi turned her head toward him a bit, just barely able to make out the outline of his arm reaching over to the table to set his glasses down. "Thank you," she whispered, "Second time you've saved my life by listening."

"Lets just say that you owe me," he replied, turning his back to her as she curled up, way too tired to even protest sleeping in his bed.

–

**A/N: She did always think he was a good guy deep down. Hrrm. Something seems off about Kyoya's personality to me though. I dunno. It's just... DRIVING ME NUTS that I can't figure out exactly what though. **

**Kudos to: XxNightShroudxX, Enigmaticrose4, BlackestNight BrightestDay, just another review (You should be used to it by now. Luckily though, sometimes I'm NICE.), Twilightrewriter, Mrs. Ootori43ver, Mikame15, Agent Twinkle Toes, Ariel (Sorry you stayed up till 8 AM! I didn't really think that it would be quite THAT good! But the comment warmed my heart.) and Koharu Veddette. **

**GUYS. I FELL OVER WHEN I SAW THAT KUDOS LIST. SERIOUSLY. THAAANK YOOOU.**


	13. 12: Tension

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 12 – Tension _

The first night sleeping in the Narian palace was difficult. She was tired, but she didn't stay asleep like she would have liked. One of the times she woke, Kyoya was closer than she had thought he was. She reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes and accidentally knocked his head with her hand. He growled a bit under his breath but just turned over in the end, allowing her to let out a breath.

She's always known that he was a good person inside. How could you have as kind of a sister as Fuyumi and not be? She imagined that the Narian Queen had been the same when she was alive.

Maybe she was just uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed as him.

Except, the next night she was perfectly fine. She slept soundly through the night despite the fact that the man sleeping next to her kicked her in his sleep.

The third morning, they were woken not by the sun shining through the curtains to the balcony, but by his sister. "Kyoya? Are you awake?" she murmured, poking her head into the room.

"Hng," Haruhi moaned softly, blinking her eyes open to squint at the intruding woman, who squeaked when she realized that she'd woken her up. "Good morning Princess." The brunette looked over at Kyoya, who looked slightly annoyed even though he still appeared to be sound asleep. "I'll wake him," she murmured, taking over her role as his fake lover, "Kyoya." She placed a hand on his cheek. "Kyoya, wake up."

An angry, but quiet grunt escaped from his throat. She smirked softly and tilted her head down enough to put her lips closer to his. "Your sister's here. Don't make me kiss you, please." He still stayed stubbornly asleep. "You asked for it."

For what must have been the first time, _she _kissed _him_. No sooner had she than he rolled over, pinned her down, and glared at her. She let out a squeak of surprise when she found herself staring up into his unshielded onyx eyes. "What?" he growled.

"Your sister," she answered robotically, pointing in the direction of the door.

When he looked over, his sister was smiling at the two of them fondly. "What?" he asked her instead, angered that his sleep had been interrupted.

"I was just playing with Yuki. She's wanting you, _Utleli Uherbro_."

"Why does she always want _me _specifically when it's early?" he grunted, "Tell her to ask later. Like say, four hours." He was already off of Haruhi and rolling over so his back was to them. The brunette couldn't help smiling at his foul mood.

"I'll play with Yuki," she murmured, pulling herself out of bed. Her side ached slightly but she ignored it. She shrugged one of three robes that was in Kyoya's closet. It was a bit big on her but she didn't mind, it was warm. She followed Fuyumi to Yuiichi's family's chambers, which was a main bedroom for the Prince and his wife conjoined to a bathroom and another smaller bedroom for their daughter.

Yuki's room was fitting for a 5-year-old. A small table was set up in the middle of the room with a tea set scattered on it. Haruhi smiled at the set up, remembering seeing her neighbor's daughter playing in a similar way. Sitting in a little chair was a little girl with her raven hair pulled back in twin pigtails and her bright hazel eyes shining. "Auntie Yumi!" she called when she caught sight of her aunt again. "Is Uncle Kyo with you?"

The 28-year-old shook her head sadly. "Uncle Kyo's sleeping still, Yuki." It was then that the little girl caught sight of Haruhi. She suddenly turned shy, looking down at the table. "This is Haruhi though. She'll play with you until Uncle Kyo wakes up if you like."

The 5-year-old glanced up through her bangs, eyes wide. "Haruhi? Like... Uncle Kyo's girlfriend?"

"The very one," the brunette replied, curtsying a bit to humor the little girl. Her shyness seemed to be forgotten almost immediately as she jumped up, ran over, and hugged her. Haruhi was a bit bewildered to find her hugging her legs but smiled anyway. She had always loved children.

"Can I call you Auntie Haru?"

"Yuki!" Fuyumi started to scold but the 20-year-old interrupted with a small, "I suppose."

She couldn't resist how her hazel eyes lit up with the answer and cheered, tugging her hand until she sat in one of the chairs at the table.

–

Nearly an hour later, Haruhi was still playing tea party with Yuki. They had taken breakfast in her room so they could have the dishes as part of the pretend party. Currently, she was staring the older girl in the face, her own screwed up a little. "You're pretty, Haru."

"T-thank you," she stuttered, surprised by the child's sweet complimenting attitude.

She lapsed into silence, seeming to be thinking about something since her face was still screwed up in a thoughtful expression. Well, as thoughtful of an expression as a 5-year-old could have. "Auntie Haru," the little girl finally mumbled, "Are you going to marry Uncle Kyo?"

The brunette choked a bit on her tea and had a miniature coughing fit. She gaped at the small child for a moment, not quite knowing how to answer the question when a bemused voice answered from behind her, "Perhaps. But I would hope it wouldn't be too soon." She turned, finding her fake lover looking at her.

"Uncle Kyo!" Yuki cried, running over to him. Kyoya easily scooped up the giggling girl in his arms.

"How's my favorite niece?" he asked. Haruhi was almost enraptured by how gentle he was around the 5-year-old even though she knew that he probably had only woken up several minutes ago. His eyes were softer than she'd ever seen them. And little Yuki obviously adored him.

Her giggles only increased. "Uncle Kyo... I'm your _only _niece!"

"That must mean that you're my favorite then, hmm?" His gaze shifted to Haruhi, who was looking at them with a small smile on her features. A wall seemed to be put up in his eyes as soon as she looked in them. A slight disappointment seemed to tug at her heart. Yuki had started chatting to her uncle, who seemed to be paying half-attention.

"Sleep well, Kyoya?" the brunette asked softly. He nodded while his niece seemed to fall silent, looking between the two of them. She slipped down his frame till her feet touched the ground and frowned, looking up at her Uncle Kyo.

About five seconds of silence later she threw her hands up in the air and stubbornly demanded to Kyoya, "Well? Are you going to kiss her good morning?"

The Prince chuckled a bit and strode forward, leaning down to meet her lips quickly. "Good morning, Haruhi."

"Morning," she replied, grinning at Yuki's antics. The twins would love her. Haruhi's chest wrenched horribly but she ignored it for the sake of the 5-year-old in the room. Kyoya took a seat next to her and Yuki hurried over to hers.

The tea party commenced once more.

–

Yuiichi wasn't pleased when he came back from a meeting with Yoshio and found his daughter playing with Haruhi. He gritted his teeth and glared at her. "What's going on in here?" he asked, trying to keep calm.

Kyoya turned while Yuki raced over, crying, "Daddy!" Haruhi avoided his eyes, feeling slightly helpless. She stood abruptly and started walking toward the door when Yuki answered her father's question, "Auntie Haru and Uncle Kyo were playing with me!" The brunette froze, eyes looking at the First Prince quickly.

"Auntie... Haru?" Yuiichi growled softly, trying not to frighten his daughter while also demanding of his brother why she was calling a woman that couldn't be trusted in his eyes 'Auntie.' His brown eyes were piercing Kyoya's onyx ones dangerously.

"She asked if she could call me Auntie, I told her yes," Haruhi spoke softly.

Yuiichi chuckled a bit dryly. "Yuki. Haruhi's not related to you," he murmured.

"But she's going to be as soon as she married Uncle Kyo!" the 5-year-old pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Her father stared at his brother. "Is that so?"

Kyoya coughed a bit uncomfortably and corrected his niece. "You mean _if _she marries me, right Yuki?"

Her face screwed up in a frown and she opened her mouth to retort but Haruhi interrupted, "I'll be in the library, Kyoya." She left them before any of the three could protest. Fuyumi was sitting back wondering what the hell was happening.

"Yuki, go with your Aunt please," Yuiichi murmured, keeping his gaze on his brother's face. Yuki was about to protest when Fuyumi swept her up in her arms, sensing the oncoming argument between her brothers. As soon as the two left the older closed the door of his daughter's room. "Why was she playing with Yuki?"

"Because Yuki needed someone to play with until I woke up," he answered stiffly.

"I don't want _her _anywhere _near _my daughter, Kyoya!"

"She's not about to hurt her, Yuiichi. You're being unreasonable. Haruhi would never hurt a child. She only ever uses violence for self-defense."

"You're sure about that? Last time I checked your character judgment wasn't in the best condition."

"Yuiichi, she came back just to warn me of an assassination attempt. She _risked her life _just to warn us."

"I don't want her around Yuki."

Kyoya suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and muttered, "Whatever you say _Hbi Uherbro_. Fuyumi and I were with them the entire time."

–

The next week went by smoothly. Yuki simply loved Haruhi and spent as much time with the brunette as she possibly could against Yuiichi's approval. She met his wife, a nice woman who was obviously as much in love with her husband as he was with her.

Her wound healed up perfectly, leaving only the slightest scar for the collection of them that she had.

Kyoya was distant. Akito was still trying to court her for some reason that she couldn't even fathom. Fuyumi's husband had arrived, much to her dismay. Another life to be taken when the assassination started. She tried to push all thoughts of having to kill the Third Prince out of her mind. It didn't work. She kept a small knife on her person at all times, paranoid that someone might attack her.

Then there was a storm.

She'd always been afraid of thunder and lightening. And this was no exception. Even though she was in the Narian palace and wanted desperately not to be afraid, she was. She curled up and tried not to whimper so she wouldn't wake up her sleeping companion, but she was shivering so badly that it shook the bed and woke him up anyway.

He wasn't mad as she expected him to be though. "Haruhi, what's your matter?" he asked bluntly. A crash of thunder followed his words, eliciting a small shriek from her. "Ah... The thunder?"

She nodded, too afraid to speak. "Yuki's the same. I imagine she's crawled into her parents bed by now."

"D-Dad said that he used to have to hold my-my mother wh-whenever a storm h-hit," she stammered, trying desperately not to start crying as she'd been known to when she was younger. The twins were normally there when there was a storm. Now there was no one. No one but the indifferently distant Third Narian Prince.

"It's only noise," he murmured. In a flash of lightening she caught sight of his form lying on his back with his arm reaching in the air, as if wanting to touch the thunder. "Only noise and light. I find it fascinating now, though I was partially terrified when I was younger."

She was turned towards him, noticing how soft his voice was. "How... How'd you get over it?"

"My mother taught me a trick," he replied, eyes staring straight at the ceiling before shifting to her dimly-lit face. "Start counting the seconds after you see a flash. When you hear the thunder that follows, stop. That's how many miles away it is. It's rather calming when you realize that most of the bolts are actually quite far away."

She tried to calm herself enough to do as he said. But the moment that she saw a flash of lightening her mind went into a blind panic and she couldn't think of anything except to get underneath the covers and stay there.

Kyoya sighed under his breath, obviously tired, and pulled her smaller form toward him by the arm. She struggled at first, childishly thinking that the thunder was trying to pull her in. "Haruhi. Stop," he grunted. She froze immediately, moving as his hands seemed to demand her to. Soon she was lying on her side with her back to his chest, facing the balcony doors, curtains open. He was almost amused by how badly her entire body seemed to be quivering with fear.

He waited until he saw a flash outside the window, feeling her quaking increase, then started counting softly in her ear. "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four, one thousand five," he continued until he got to eleven. Then the thunder rumbled gently in the distance. "11 miles. It's pretty far off."

He counted the next few lightening-bolt-to-thunder-claps softly in her ear, each far off one causing her to shudder a bit less until she was completely still. When Kyoya looked at her, she was sound asleep, lulled to sleep by his voice counting the miles between them and the lightening.

He smiled to himself tiredly and settled down, deciding not to remove his arms from around her.

–

When Haruhi woke, she found herself very close to a certain Prince. His arm draped over her waist and his nose a hair-breadths away from hers. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment while her heart both beat erratically and yanked painfully in her chest, causing her to sit up sharply.

The raven-haired Narian growled under his breath and turned over, leaving her to climb out of the bed and slip on the robe she had adopted.

She remembered the storm very slowly, though the signs of there ever being one outside were nearly non-existent when she peeked out the clear glass balcony doors. The sun was just barely peaking over the mountains in the far south-west, illuminating the sky in orange and pink light. Why had she woken so early? She glanced back at the bed where all that showed it was inhabited was a rather large lump in the middle.

He'd been unusually kind to her. Uncharacteristically kind. Of course, she mused, he had also been quite tired. That must have been why.

Yes, she told herself sternly, he had been like that because he was tired. No other reason.

–

The end of the week came quicker than she expected. Two weeks had passed in a snap. Her nerves were going crazy. _Tonight _she'd have to at least attempt to assassinate the man she'd been sharing a bedroom with.

"My father wants to meet you at dinner tonight." His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. The frown that had wanted to show on her face finally got through. The Narian King wanted to meet her? As what exactly?

"As your lover or your spy?" she asked softly, biting her lip.

"My lover of course," he replied curtly, "_Uherfa _thinks having women as soldiers is asking for disaster."

Haruhi snorted and murmured, "I don't think meeting your father is the best idea." He gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head. "It's not a good idea. The Witch... What if she's watching?"

"She won't be watching, Haruhi. She's down south in the mountains. She never uses that looking glass we saw the assassination in unless she's here. It's in her room where no one will touch it. Refusing might make _Uherfa _suspect something."

She sighed softly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I dunno, Kyoya."

"I won't let anything happen."

"You can't promise that."

"Even if the Witch were watching, if she tried to cause you harm against my will I'd have authority to banish her from the country."

"If she's watching and she tells your father that I'm Moradian, he'll pull rank as King and overrule your wishes," she snapped back. "I don't particularly want to die anytime soon. Especially by her hand." He grunted a little under his breath with frustration.

"You've met everyone else in my family except him! He wants to meet you, Haruhi."

She stared at him for the longest moment with doubt. "This isn't some sort of trick is it?"

"No. He merely wants to meet the woman that everyone thinks has captured my heart and attentions."

Biting her lip and still slightly doubtful of the Narian King's intentions, she finally replied, "Alright. Fine."

He smirked slightly with triumph. "You'll need to borrow a proper dress from my sister. Come," he murmured, taking her elbow and leading her toward his sister's room. She shook her head furiously in protest. She didn't wear dresses. She had never worn one in her life and she didn't particularly think that it was necessary. "Yes, this is necessary," he answered her unspoken question. "Fuyumi!" he called through the oak door, knocking.

When the door opened, Fuyumi was slightly surprised. Kyoya apparently never came to visit her, she always had to come to him. "_Hbi Uersis_," he greeted softly, holding Haruhi's hand lightly in his own, "Haruhi requires a dress for the dinner with _Uherfa _tonight."

"Ohh!" Fuyumi squealed, grabbing the brunette and pulling her into the room then shoving her husband out at her brother. "I'll have her ready by dinner!" Then she slammed the door ungraciously on her youngest brother's face.

–

He would never admit it, but Kyoya was actually quite nervous for this dinner with his father and Haruhi. It was very possible that his father would look into the Fari's daughter and find that her name was not in fact Haruhi but Marimei. Which meant that Haruhi was not a Fari. That would just lead to questions and investigation that wasn't needed, only putting more stress on Kyoya.

Fuyumi delivered Haruhi to his – _their – _bedroom door about 10 minutes before they were supposed to arrive for dinner. She waited to see her brother's face when he saw Haruhi and then took off with her husband, giggling softly all the way down the hall.

It was really quite a bit of a change from the loose masculine clothing she normally wore to hide her femininity to the simple yet magnificent dress she now wore. It was a pale powder blue in color so close to being off-white that it almost shimmered as she moved. Sleeves short. Small bits of white lace were sewed into the bodice. The skirt flowed down from where the bodice ended just above her hips all the way to her ankles. Small white slippers were cradling her feet to match. Luckily Fuyumi and Haruhi were about the same size so there was no need to refit it.

She was gorgeous to say the least. The brunette coughed uncomfortably under his gaze. "I assume this is suitable?"

"Of course," he mumbled, holding out his arm to her, which she took a bit hesitantly. Her grip seemed to tighten the closer they got to the dining room until he laid his hand on top of hers and murmured, "Relax. Even if he doesn't like you it isn't like he can do anything about it. And it's not like we're asking for his blessing for us to marry."

She shook her head, not speaking what she was thinking. _'I'm more concerned about whether he'll recognize my mother's appearance in myself.' _She knew the chances of it were slim. But it was possible. The Moradian and Narian royals had met occasionally once upon a time just as the Kiran and Narian ones met once every few years now.

At that moment there was one thing that the two agreed on as they entered the dining room. And that was a hope for the meal to go well.

–

Haruhi was paranoid even as they left the dining room, feeling the eyes of Yoshio Ohtori burning in her back. He seemed to recognize her just a bit. Perhaps he didn't know where exactly she was from but he definitely recognized her. Dinner had been pleasant enough. Kyoya had kept romantics to a minimum for her sake. Yuki had demanded to sit on Haruhi's other side.

A second pair of lustful eyes also scalded her retreating form. She knew those belonged to Akito Ohtori.

Yes, everything was wonderful. But it was even better now that she was away from that table. She could relax a bit more.

Then she remembered the impending task that she had been ordered to fulfill. She had to do it _tonight_. She tried to keep her thoughts off her face as Kyoya walked next to her. She still carried the small knife with her.

When should she do it? As soon as she could after they had gotten back, she guessed.

Second question: Could she do it?

Now the answer to that was not as obvious. She'd been spending the last two weeks almost constantly in his presence. He was a quiet companion. Kept mostly to himself. But she noticed small things about him that made her start doubting her own abilities.

Like how he would occasionally distract her from her thoughts when he thought she was starting to look troubled.

Or how he showed his affection towards his niece and siblings in small subtle ways.

Or how it seemed that he'd almost grown a soft spot for her. She tried to ignore this one when it presented itself since she knew no good could ever come from it except him sparing her life.

She stood out on the balcony while he prepared for bed. This was what they did every night after their evening meal. She would stand outside while he changed then he would do the same for her. This time though, she spent the entire time hopping from foot to foot with nerves. When he opened the balcony doors, her back was to him and he rose an eyebrow at her movements. "Anxious about something?"

"No," she replied a little too quickly, "It's just a bit chilly out here is all." Really, she hadn't even noticed the slight cold until she mentioned it. But she was glad it was there. It provided a nice excuse.

"Then get inside and change already," he muttered coarsely, taking her place while she ran inside and closed the doors, pulling the curtains shut. She changed quickly, wanting to get this entire damn thing through with before her nerves caved through. She knocked quickly on the balcony doors, signaling that it was safe to enter.

He came in, looking ready to just settle down and read a book. Which he did after standing looking at her in contemplation. Like he was trying to figure out everything that was wrong just by staring at her.

He slid into the bed, fishing his earlier abandoned book off the bedside table while she fingered the knife that she'd placed in her robe pocket. Then, slowly, she joined him. She felt slightly helpless. She didn't feel comfortable just reaching over and slitting his throat without warning while he was so unguarded but drawing in his attention might make him fight her.

She fiddled with the knife a bit longer before speaking softly. "Kyoya." His eyes hesitated to draw away from his novel toward her face. He made a small humming noise. "Something's bothering me." She moved slightly closer to him. The questioning look on his face as he lowered her book made her resolve crumble slightly. She drew in a breath slowly then pulled out the knife and held it to his throat. "You aren't dead yet."

He froze, staring her in the face. "What...?"

"You were right when you guessed that I only came back to kill you." She hated herself when her voice quivered slightly. She shouldn't talk to him. Just drive the blade through his throat and leave. He was silent, lips pursed and eyes boring steadily into hers. But they held one thing. Anger and the tiniest bit of hurt. "I-I'm sorry."

He laughed a little. Harshly, bitterly. And muttered to himself, "I saved the woman that was sent to kill me. Yuiichi was right."

She urged her hand to just do it. Her brain told her limbs to move and murder the man she held at knife point before he thought about fighting back. The longer she allowed herself to just stare into his face the more crushed her resolve became.

Murder was not a thing to be taken lightly. And she was not a person who could commit it without a second thought of regret. The more she thought about it. The more that she stared at him. The more that she started to think that it was wrong to just keep trying to kill each other. Didn't she join the army to try and bring peace to Filandria? Was assassination really the answer?

Again she tried to bring her hand down. To get it over with. But she couldn't. Instead she found herself tearing her eyes away from his face, her hand raising and tossing the blade in her hand at the floor, where it stuck straight up in the carpet. "I can't do it," she mumbled, her mouth moving on its own accord just like her head was as it lowered to his chest. "I can't do it. Dammit. I tried to tell him I couldn't do it."

He was still tensely frozen underneath her. And when he spoke his voice held the slightest bit of ice, "Care to explain?"

She sighed softly, keeping her head down as she answered promptly, "I was given orders by the Kiran General to inform you of an assassination attempt to happen a month from my arrival when in reality it would be 2 weeks earlier than that. And I was assigned to kill you. But I can't."

She pushed herself up and crawled off the bed. "The other assassins... They were given the same orders with different family members?"

"I don't know," she grumbled, "Each of us were briefed individually. None of us know who the others are. I suspect that the others are already in the palace though." His eyes were sharp and wide as he stared at her. She realized the same thing he seemed to right then, the weight of her own words ringing in her ears. "Shit. Yuki. Yuiichi," she whispered at the same time he breathed, "Fuyumi. Akito. _Uherfa_."

She took off at a run, calling, "Take guards with you!" as she ran toward Yuiichi's chambers, hoping against all hopes that she would know who the assassins were and would be able to convince them not to go through with their mission.

–

**A/N: Image of Kyoya playing tea party = HI-LARIOUS. LOL. **

**I always have that problem... The first night I sleep somewhere different, I never sleep well. If I sleep there again a second night, I'm perfectly fine. Soon as I get home to my own bed again, first night is almost unbearable. It's ANNOYING. Anyone else have this problem? Or am I just crazy? **

**I have a story to go with the counting thing too. As I've mentioned many times before, I, like Haruhi, have astraphobia. When I was staying at my grandparents house one summer, there was a storm that made me want to hide under a blanket but my grandpa sat me on his knee and taught me that trick. It wasn't so bad from then on until he died 5 years ago, then the phobia got worse again. Irony. Dad still does it if he's home when there's a storm though. **

**Tired Kyoya is either sorely enraged/cranky or unusually unguarded and gentle depending on the situation. I figure, Haruhi's fear reminds him of storms with his mother, thus enticing the unguarded gentle one out. **

**Yes the entire three segment part on Yuki was necessary! Don't question my logic! (But I will admit... I was just playing on my muse a little bit with it rather than actually being important.)**

**This was pretty long. Just over 9 pages. And another slight-cliff-hanger. Though half of the next one's already finished... School starts in two weeks. **

**Kudos to: BlackestNight BrightestDay, Agent Twinkle Toes, Enigmaticrose4, Jengurl4, Mrs. Ootori43ver, XxNightShroudxX, and Twilightrewriter. **

**This is a really long Author's Note... When did I get back into that habit? **

**Oh yeah... When I decided that I had a lot to comment on. **


	14. 13: In Need of a Savior

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 13 – In Need of a Savior_

When she skidded to a stop in front of Yuiichi's bedroom she could hear the faint sobbing of a scared child through the door. Haruhi swallowed slowly and pushed the door open, realizing belatedly that she hadn't brought a weapon. An arrow flew by her head, implanting itself in the door behind her. She ducked down quickly, scanning the room.

Yuiichi was on the ground, his attacker on top of him. His wife, Mayuri, was unconscious and bleeding. Yuki was in a corner crying with a second assassin bearing down on her.

Thankfully, she recognized the heads of flaming red hair and quickly called out the names of her two Moradian guards. "Hikaru! Kaoru!" Both their heads swiveled in her direction so she could tell which was which. Hikaru was by Yuki while Kaoru was on Yuiichi. Both sets of eyes were filled with shock.

She addressed Hikaru first, knowing that Kaoru would listen to her quicker. That and Yuki was a child. She was so scared she probably could hardly even think. "Hikaru, let her go."

He didn't seem to understand, staring at her like a stranger. "You're... stopping me from carrying out what I was assigned?"

"She's just a child! Let her go." She hated the pleading note that had taken hold of her voice. She should be able to push an order at him and have him obey straight away for crying out loud! Hikaru just moved closer to her, pressing a knife to the 5-year-old's throat. "_HIKARU!_"

He growled a little in frustration and looked at her. "Namahi," he stated, rather coldly, "I'm doing my job."

"She's _five_!" That tactic didn't work so she switched, licking her lips as she strode closer, trying to ignore the small pool of Mayuri's blood that was starting to form. "Hikaru, imagine me when I was five. Pretend that we still live in the Moradian palace. Narian assassins are closing in on me, Dad's dead. Just think of how scared I am. I don't know what's going on! She's exactly the same! _Exactly the same!_"

Haruhi was close enough to touch him. Yuki whimpered a small, "Auntie Haru..." while she laid a shaky hand on her friend's shoulder. She didn't even look at Kaoru, knowing he had frozen the moment she'd said his name. She just kept her eyes on Hikaru and the knife that was in his hand.

"Let her go," she whispered.

"You're defending them." The older twin was mad. Very mad. "You're defending the very people that destroyed your life, you know that Ha-Namahi?"

"Yuki wasn't even alive back then," she replied softly. The younger Hitachiin still hadn't moved. Yuiichi was staring at his wife's face. Yuki was staring at the brunette. "She holds no responsibilities for her grandfather's actions against Mora 20 years ago. Let her go." Slowly, the hand holding the knife lowered to his side and Yuki ran towards Haruhi, who lifted her up and walked toward the opposite side of the room.

"Kaoru, free him," she murmured on her way past.

"You know that interfering with a Kiran operation is going to get you killed right?" the younger twin demanded hotly, staying where he was. "It was one thing giving full battle plans to them to save _soldiers _lives. Saving them directly from an assassination?"

"You won't tell!" she snapped back, setting Yuki down. The little girl clung to the older woman's leg. "I know you won't! Neither of you will! If you did, my father would be so god-spitting furious with you that he'd have both your heads! Not to mention _your _father! Your father's been mine and Dad's guard since Dad took the throne from his uncle three years before I was born!"

Yuiichi did not seem pleased. Not at all. "Haruhi," a voice intoned from behind. She turned, seeing Kyoya standing there, bleeding slightly but otherwise unharmed. Haruhi pushed Yuki toward her uncle gently. She gladly ran over there.

She glanced at the twins. "For God's sake Kaoru! Get off of him!" The red-head grunted under his breath and climbed off of the First Prince while Hikaru stared at his brother in disbelief.

"You're... just going to let him go?"

"There's not a lot _to _do about this, Hikaru!" the younger snapped back impatiently. He too seemed a bit angry with Haruhi though. "_She's _ordering it so. I can't do anything but obey." Yuiichi was by his wife's side in a manner of seconds, trying to see if her injuries were too severe to be healed.

Haruhi knelt down by Mayuri as well. Feeling her wrist for a pulse. She found a faint one. Faint and quickly fading. She glanced at Kyoya then his brother quickly. "Stop the blood flow, then give her a transfusion. You can use your magic better than I can. And it won't make you dizzy from one spell." He didn't reply, just started working.

"Haruhi," Kyoya repeated from the door. She looked straight at him.

"I know," she grumbled, "I'll explain soon enough."

She turned to the twins, who were next to each other now, Hikaru still armed with a knife while Kaoru held a bow and arrow. She strode over to the two of them, speaking in a low voice. "You two get out of here. Tell General Fusawa that you failed in your mission. Don't mention anything about me."

"You were supposed to kill _him _weren't you?" Hikaru spat, gesturing behind her to where Kyoya was holding his niece. She closed her eyes and turned her face away. "I never really saw you as the traitor type, Haruhi."

"I'm not a godforsaken _traitor_," she growled in frustration, "How many times do I have to tell people that? _Shybrar! Goa oust. Leftri_. Pretend I was never here."

"If you were never here then this family would be dead already." This was from Kaoru.

She stared at him. "Kaoru! Christ! You know everything! Assassinating the royal family is not going to solve _anything_! Just _leave_! If you _must _tell then do it! God, I don't even care anymore, I can just stay here for the rest of my life and never see Dad again! Let him and Tamaki think I'm dead!" she exclaimed, so incredibly stressed about the entire situation that she couldn't even speak properly.

"Are you in love with him?" Hikaru demanded.

Her eyes shot immediately to the older twin's gaze. "No. Far from it."

"Why in all of Filandria do you feel so loyal to him then, Haruhi? His father _destroyed your life!_"

"That wasn't him! They don't deserve to die just because their father and my grandmother killed my mother and crushed my entire future there! They aren't their father!" She could hear rumbling footsteps like a thousand elephants. "_Shybrar! _Get out! You'll be killed if you stay here!" She pushed them toward the balcony.

Kaoru reluctantly followed her order. Hikaru had more to say though. This time though he did it with his actions instead of his words. He turned back from the balcony, close enough for her to hug him if she wanted to. The blade of the knife in his hand drove into her stomach, twisting. She choked up a bit, staring into his face. "You're a traitor to Mora," she whispered.

He seemed indifferent. "I may be a traitor to Mora, but Mora's gone. You're a traitor to Kira," he murmured while his brother stared at her in horror.

"Hikaru! Why-? Haruhi!" Kaoru yelled, running toward her. She shook her head quickly, telling him with her eyes to get out. The thunderous footsteps of the guards were tremendously louder.

"I'll be fine. Go," she hissed, turning back toward the Narian royals in the room. Kyoya's eyes, though glaring at her slightly, were drawn immediately to the knife still stuck in her stomach, her hand grasping it lightly. Yuki's face was buried in his shoulder. Yuiichi was still working furiously over Mayuri.

Haruhi felt slightly faint as the realization of what just happened washed over her. Hikaru had stabbed her. Her _guard _had _stabbed _her. The shock was worst than the actual injury. She gasped a little, blinking furiously. She stumbled a bit toward Mayuri and Yuiichi, forcing herself to stay calm. Her knees collapsed directly next to the woman. She took in the damage done to Yuiichi's wife. A large bloody hole from either a knife or a sword in her left-upper chest. She swallowed back bile quickly.

"This is your fault you know," Yuiichi growled, slicing his finger to give Mayuri a blood transfusion. Haruhi once again felt for a pulse, feeling Kyoya's eyes on her. She tried to ignore the oldest Ohtori sibling's words, feeling the truth behind them deep within her. "Is Yuki injured?"

"Not that I can see," Kyoya murmured, setting the small girl down gently. Haruhi, though slightly faint, motioned to the girl.

"Don't. Touch. My. Daughter," the First Prince bit out word by word, glaring up at her.

She looked at him, freezing a bit before continuing what she was doing. Yuki gladly transferred herself from her uncle to her adopted aunt. Her father's glare increased. "I'm checking her for wounds," she mumbled, trying to console him.

"I don't fucking care!" he snapped, "Don't touch her!"

Kyoya sighed and shook his head as guards burst into the room. Haruhi looked Yuki over. Besides a small nick on her throat from Hikaru's knife she didn't seem too severely injured. "Haruhi," the Third Prince murmured with a hard edge, "You haven't pulled out the knife yet."

She shook her head, grunting a bit when she realized that it actually hurt quite a lot. "Pulling it out will only cause it to bleed more." She whispered a quick scratch healing charm under her breath and pressed a finger to the 5-year-old's neck. It disappeared almost before her eyes. "There," she said softly, smiling at Yuki, who wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck, "All better."

The guards were talking with Kyoya, who kept glancing at her. She briefly heard the words, _healers_, _red-heads_, and _Kirans_. She shut her eyes and slid her arms around the little girl that was clinging to her. "Is mommy going to be ok?" she asked softly. Haruhi glanced down at Mayuri then back at Yuki.

"I don't know, Yuki," she mumbled. Yuiichi was still glaring daggers at her while she held his daughter. Frankly, she was surprised that the little girl still trusted her after she had shown complete recognition of the attackers.

She picked Yuki up, knowing she couldn't just leave her by her mother's wounded body and stood. Haruhi strode to Kyoya, knife still protruding from her stomach. The head guard glanced at it then her face. The raven-haired Prince took his niece from her as she mumbled a bit dazedly, "He stabbed me."

Her hand wrapped around the knife in her abdomen and yanked quickly. The blade slid out easily, causing her to elicit a small gasp. The guard called in a healer quickly but she shook her head. "Kyoya. Clot it will you?" He nodded and cast the small charm on her wound. "Your siblings and father?"

His jaw set a little, slightly annoyed, slightly angered. "Akito and _Uherfa _are in pretty bad shape. Healers are already there. Sachi is in a coma-like state from a head wound. She most likely won't make it. Fuyumi was shot in the shoulder but is otherwise fine. Shido's a bit worse off than his wife but he'll live."

She couldn't look him in the eye. She didn't want to see any of the betrayal that was laced in his gaze. This was her fault. The mother lying in her own blood on the floor being worked on furiously by her husband was her fault. The injuries that the rest of Kyoya's family had obtained were her fault. She turned her body toward him. "And you?" Her eyes went straight to the bloodstain on the shoulder of his night-shirt.

He shrugged a bit indifferently and murmured, "Gashes on my shoulder and chest. Not much else."

He was distant. And for some reason, Haruhi didn't like that one bit. Distance meant that he might hold this against her as Yuiichi now did. She swallowed and turned away, feeling faint from shock even though her knife wound was burning with healing. She was supposed to start on her way home tonight. Something told her that she wouldn't be for quite a bit longer.

–

She could hear them arguing again. Directly after the attempt, they had argued furiously. Now, they were again the very next night. They weren't very subtle. She could clearly hear Yuiichi's angry yells from where she stood in the hall, frozen, then just barely the slightly quieter calm replies of his youngest brother. "I want her hung, Kyoya! I told you that she couldn't be trusted! I _told _you!"

"She was perfectly justified in her actions," the younger snapped back in her defense, "She was given orders, she was merely following them. She _specifically _didn't harm _anyone_!"

"Indirection," Yuiichi growled, "She indirectly killed my wife. I want that _zingl uoroustrai prewh _dead!" The Narian insult lashed out at her.

"She saved your daughter for _Sistch's _sake! She tried to save Mayuri too! Yuiichi! Her magic isn't finely tuned enough to perform the things that were needed to save her! If she could have she would have."

"And you know this because her word is _so _reliable!"

"Not that," Kyoya spat indignantly, "She never told me anything about her feelings on this matter. I know she would have because she was just as distraught as _you _were when she found out Mayuri died! You could see it on her face."

The door opened as she stared at it, head hung. The Ohtori faltered when he saw her standing there. She just held back a slight sob and hurried away, ignoring the look on his face.

–

When he returned to their room an hour later she was sitting on the balcony, half-contemplating throwing herself off of it while also knowing that suicide shouldn't have been something she should be thinking about. She sighed and leaned her head back against the chair she was sitting in.

She felt his presence behind her before he even announced it, beating him to the punch. "Your brother hates me. He blames me for his wife's death and he wants me dead. He's right. It was my fault. I could have told you the actual time for the execution but I didn't."

"To protect yourself," Kyoya intoned dryly, "Albeit a bit selfish, it's understandable."

She chortled sarcastically, her lids closing over dark-stress-laden eyes. "Everything I always do seems to be to protect myself no matter what I try to claim." She sighed heavily and added in a soft mumble, "Things would be so much easier if Mora had never fallen."

"I meant to ask you about that, by the way," he replied quietly, slowly walking around to lean on the stone railing in front of her. "When you were having that little _chat _with those twins, you kept referring to a throne and my father and your _grandmother _destroying your life." He licked his lips. "The only throne I can think of that would apply to your heritage is the Moradian one. Care to explain?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I'd rather not. But I don't suppose you're going to give me a choice are you?" A small shake of his head sufficed. "I didn't think so." Drawing in a shaky breath she told him, knowing that if he was defending her with his brother when it _was _her fault, then he could be trusted.

"20 years ago, shortly after I was born, my grandmother came to visit with claims of wanting to see her darling baby granddaughter. My parents protested, Mum quite a bit more than Dad. Grandmother was mad at Dad for stealing her daughter away. When Mum tried to stop her, she banished her to the Outlands. She evaded Dad and made her way straight to me.

"That's when she cursed me. And I hear those damn words of that stupid curse repeating over and over in my head every time you kiss me like it's trying to remind me, _'You're cursed Haruhi. You can never live a normal life. You'll always have to hide and you can never love anyone without living in fear that one day you'll have to kill them.'_

"She left me and Dad in the palace for us to be killed by the Narians that were already forcing their way through the gates. They probably reported to your father that we were dead to cover up the embarrassment of the mistake that the King and Princess got away."

She didn't open her eyes through her entire speech, not wanting to see that same angry look of betrayal in his eyes. When she did he was staring at her, jaw set. "And you refrained from telling me this before because...?"

"Do you think I talk openly about this with just _anyone_?" she snapped, "Do you think I'm stupid enough to just randomly admit that you're supposed to be my worst enemy? 3 months ago, you weren't trustworthy, Kyoya."

"And I am now?" he snorted.

She sighed and grumbled a bit under her breath in frustration, running a hand through her hair. "Yes. You defended me against your brother. Now you're trustworthy."

"So The Witch is your grandmother?" A nod. "And your father's Moradian King Ryoji Fujioka?" Another nod. "You lying little weasel. 'The name makes me feel closer to my heritage.' _Mjitbush_. It's your real name." He seemed more angry at himself for not being able to make the connection then he was at her for not telling him sooner. "That's why you were so worried about The Witch watching dinner. If she saw you, she'd know you were her granddaughter."

She was exhausted. Utterly exhausted. "You can tell your father if you please. I don't care. I'll just run again like I always do. And it would certainly insure you the throne."

"Once The Witch knows you're alive she won't rest until she's found you. There'll be no where to hide. She has immunity of the state here and Kira. I didn't spare your life twice just for you to be murdered by her." His own disgust with The Witch sounded more clearly in his voice than she'd ever heard it before. "Besides, Father's treatment of handling the Moradians was ruthless and unnecessary. I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Not even you."

She closed her eyes again. So she wasn't about to die and Kyoya _was _trustworthy. She put her hand on the healing knife wound on her stomach that burned faintly. The memory of the look on Hikaru's face remained burned in her mind.

"I always try to do the right thing," she murmured under her breath, "But somehow that just screws my life up."

Kyoya either didn't hear her or was ignoring what she said. "Why didn't you kill me? That's what I can't figure out. I should be your worst enemy and you had me right there, yet you didn't do it. Why?"

She sighed a bit and answered quite simply, "Your father is the one that destroyed my life. You and your siblings had no part in it."

He was silent for the longest time. Then he murmured, "I'm going to bed." She nodded in acknowledgment. Her eyes shot open in surprise when she felt his lips on her briefly. "Goodnight, Haruhi," he breathed. Her chest hurt, both from the strange yanking that always came when he kissed her and how fast her heart was beating.

"Night," she breathed back, trying to act like it hadn't affected her at all. She noticed the small smirk on his lips though. He knew it had.

–

"I could have turned that knife on you, you know," he muttered the next day while she was reading. He'd looked like he'd been in deep thought. "Just like I could have freed myself in the dungeon if I had wanted to."

She snorted. "Why didn't you then?"

"I knew you wouldn't do it." She was silent. "You don't just kill someone who's saved your life twice, Haruhi. No one does unless they're heartless." She was oddly quiet. Everything was bugging her. How much she seemed to trust him without a second thought. The twins on their way back to Kira. How she was going to convince the General not to have her hung if the twins told. How she could explain being so late home in the first place.

"I have to go back," she murmured, not particularly pleased with the idea in the slightest. "I have to go back or they'll either think I'm dead or that I've turned against them."

"Are you crazy?" he questioned softly, "They'll kill you."

"Hikaru and Kaoru wouldn't tell the General anything."

"Hikaru _stabbed _you! You think he won't tell? He injured you. And that injury's an excuse not to go back quite yet too."

"It'll heal," she snapped, resisting the urge to smack some sense into him. Why was he so worried?

"Not properly! If you're traveling for two days straight it won't heal properly!"

"Kyoya," she sighed, "If I'm still injured when I get there then it's an excuse as to why I was late and why I came back. They may have wanted me to kill you but if I got wounded badly enough to make me fear for my own life then they wouldn't hold it against me if I fled."

"If either of the twins report _your _interference back to your General, it won't matter what you say. They'll kill you for high treason. I don't want that to happen to you, Haruhi."

Her heart clenched. Not quite in the same way it had been but still enough to make her flinch. She'd figured out by this time that it had something to do with her curse. "Stop acting like you care," she grumbled, pulling the blankets over her head while he stood there next to her.

He yanked the covers back down and hovered over her. "You think I'm _acting_? Christ. If I was _acting _I wouldn't have saved your goddamn life _twice_," he growled back, glaring into her eyes. Her heart tugged even harder causing her face to screw up in pain. She shut her eyes quickly, trying to will this horrible feeling in her chest away.

"Stop saying that," she whispered hoarsely, "Every time you say something like that or kiss me or some other shit like that, it hurts. Just stop."

His eyes were boring into her closed ones. She didn't open her eyes but there was that twisted look of pain on her face. It really did hurt her. No one could fake that look even if they wanted to. He grunted with frustration and withdrew to sit on the edge of the bed. "You yourself said that you trust me. I trust you."

"Then trust me to come back alive," she interrupted before he could finish, her eyes flickering open to stare at him.

He scowled at her. "I wasn't finished. I assumed that that mutual trust made us friends. You care for your friends. As do I, though I don't regularly show it." He sounded slightly bitter, like he didn't have many friends that he could call such. She didn't think that he had people that he could just be himself around. Even his family.

She sighed. "If we're friends then you'll let me go back so I won't be under more suspicion then I probably already am," Haruhi mumbled, keeping her eyes locked on his. "I could just leave without consulting you. But I'm asking your permission. Please."

His eyes were slightly troubled as he reluctantly consented. "You better mean what you say about those twins," he growled, slightly angry as he stood and walked around the bed to his side.

–

When Haruhi woke she was surprised to find Kyoya staring at her, eyes free of his regular spectacles. She blinked a few times tiredly and stretched, wincing slightly as her wound stretched uncomfortably. Something dribbled down her side, staining her night clothes on the way, and soaked into the sheets.

She glanced down at the same time her companion did. His hand quickly darted out to touch it while whispering, "_Cruor Tela_." His eyes moved back to hers, silently scolding her for persuading permission to leave out of him when she was still injured like this.

"I'll be fine," she whispered, "Don't worry, _Eowsha Sincep_."

"I'm not worried," he growled stubbornly, "I'm using common sense. No one with that kind of injury should travel _anywhere_."

She rolled her eyes and pulled herself up, snapping her magic toward the injury to make it heal faster. "Yuiichi still wants you dead, he's temporarily relinquished his rights to the throne due to being emotionally compromised. Father isn't in any condition to rule. Fuyumi and her husband have no right to the throne here since they're from Pait. Sachi died last night thus Akito's also emotionally compromised on top of practically being paralyzed." She froze in gathering the clothes she was going to change into. She had known it was bad, but not _that _bad. He hadn't given her specifics before. "Until my father is in a steady condition to think properly, I'm King."

She felt her breath die in her throat. He was King. She looked at him. "And this is supposed to convince me to stay how...?" she murmured, plucking her bag out of a corner and rifling through it for clean clothes.

He hesitated slightly before explaining, setting himself up on one elbow. "It's a tradition that Narian Kings be engaged when they take the throne."

Haruhi froze, catching on to what he was trying to say. "I can't. You know that. It's risky enough to act like I'm your lover. Your fiancé? That's just asking for disaster. If we go through with that act I may as well kill you now."

He sighed and nodded begrudgingly. "I haven't fallen for you. I doubt I will. It shouldn't be such a big problem."

She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Kyoya, I can't," she muttered, "You might not love me but that doesn't mean that I won't ever fall for you. I don't have the same control you do."

"There shouldn't be any repercussions for you if I remember your curse correctly."

She whirled around and stared at him. "I didn't tell you the second part did I?" She licked her lips while he shook his head slowly. "Let's say... Some guy loves me. Alright, I kill him. But I love him too... Then I... kill myself as well." She gauged his reaction, noticing that his expression didn't change in the slightest. "I simply can't risk it."

"I understand," he murmured, laying back down while she scuttled off to the bathroom to change instead of sending him out to the balcony.

–

She was glad when she realized that they didn't need to keep up their act as lovers as long as Akito was bedridden. It meant no heart-tugging at Kyoya's fake-romantic antics. Her wound burned incredibly, much to her chagrin. She had never tried to travel cross-continent with an injury like this before. Which, now that she thought about it was probably why he hadn't wanted her to leave.

She made her way away from the castle with her bag slung over her back. "Haruhi!" his voice called after her. She turned. "Three weeks! Stay safe!"

She nodded and called back, "I will, _Vyro Kestyma_!"

She didn't bother looking back again as she turned. In 2 days time, she'd be home, hopefully without having to face any drastic circumstances brought about her by Hikaru or Kaoru's rash actions.

–

When she finally stumbled into camp in more pain than she really should have been a few soldiers that recognized her rushed over and helped her to the General's tent. The only reason she could think of for it hurting so bad was that it was infected. Her magic – fighting off infection while also trying to heal it – was probably having a hell of a time attempting to do its job.

"Marioka," Fusawa noted with surprise when she was admitted inside.

"Sir," she replied, wincing a bit and pulling up her shirt a bit. Angry red and just a tad green. As she expected. She swore a little under her breath.

"I assume _that _is why you're 3 days late." She nodded once. "Hmm. Well then, report."

So far, it didn't seem like either of the twins had told on her. Which just made a pool of relief wash into her chest. "He's... still alive, sir. It seems that he had more combat knowledge than I was aware of and flipped my weapon on me." She gestured to her middle with one hand.

Fusawa tsked a bit. "That probably means that you can't return. He would recognize you. Tch... Such a waste of talent."

"I'm sorry, sir," she muttered, thinking up a plan. She was hesitant. "I could... register again under a different name and at a different camp. He rarely visits the other ones, you see."

A soft thoughtful noise hummed from between his pursed lips. She held her breath for a moment. "If you think you could handle it... Perhaps something could be arranged."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it, General Fusawa," she murmured, releasing the breath, "Just as soon as this damn infected thing is healed."

He nodded. "A healer is needed perhaps?"

She shook her head. "I'll request that Kaoru or Hunny heal it a bit for me. Should be fine once it gets a bit of a magical jolt from a real spell."

"Alright. Dismissed then," he replied. She saluted and retreated from the tent towards her own in a hunt for the younger twin or the small blonde Gratwenien magician.

–

**A/N: _Eowsha Sincep = _Shadow Prince. _Vyro Kestyma _= Your Majesty (As opposed to _Vyro Inesshig _which means Your _Highness_. Since Kyoya's acting King at the moment.) **

**Wounds seem to like Haruhi's middle don't they...? Hmm. I dunno what I'm thinking with this train of thought. **

**You're lucky... I was going to leave this off in a cliffhanger. But I decided to be nice. I also worked hard to get it up before school started again (since I know FOR A FACT that Chem is going to SUCK UP MY LIFE AND FREE TIME.) Trying to get Rule 51 finished too. Dunno how that'll work out. I seem to be a tad stuck. **

**I also apologize for the rather late update on this. I got a little side-track by an original story of mine that I got from a dream. (I'm writing it out... I swear. And my best friend's helping storyboard it for me.) 10 pages to make up for it? Whee? **

**Kudos to: BlackestNight BrightestDay, Enigmaticrose4, YelloMarker, Mrs. Ootori43ver (Like... x10 for FINALLY guessing the heart-tuggings thing correctly), Mikame15, just another reviewer (Haha... You always make me laugh (: I appreciate it), Twilightrewriter, XxNightShroudxX, Jengurl24, The Phantom Devil, ItaSaku29, and JUCHKO. **

**Jesus... I died with happiness. Twelve. -Dies more- Someone I think also guessed that Hikaru and Kaoru were going to be assassins. Don't remember who. But you get a ton of Kudos too. **


	15. 14: A Matter Of Time

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 14 – A Matter of Time_

When she reached the tent she regularly shared with the twins, she was grasping her wound. She sat down on her cot heavily, noticing Kaoru's immediate reaction to her distress while Hikaru remained indifferent to the fact that she'd even returned. "Lift your shirt," the younger twin commanded softly, kneeling on the ground in front of her so he'd be able to get a good look. She did as he said without a second thought.

He tsked softly. "You traveled with this thing? Are you crazy?"

"Maybe a little," she mumbled, gasping in pain when he touched the angrily infected thing. He tsked some more, mostly in anger at his twin for causing this.

"I have to cut it open again," the younger muttered while the older continued to ignore his Princess's presence. Haruhi groaned softly at the prospect of having another blade taken to her flesh. Her guard didn't even give her a chance to protest though before swiping out the knife and slicing it across her infected knife wound rather deep.

"Dammit!" she grunted. "Could have warned me!"

"I did," he retorted in amusement, pushing a clean handkerchief to it. "Now though, I can get to the inside better. Which will make frying the infection a ton easier as well." She felt faint and tried not to look down at where her blood was soaking into the rag. He pulled his hand away, pushing two fingers just a little inside, causing her to wince. "_Pugna Contagio_." His fingers withdrew, a needle and thread appearing in one hand while the other shot out and touched her again. "_Cruor Tela_."

Blood flow slowed to a stop and he started to sew up the cut he'd made swiftly, ignoring her soft gasps of slight pain as the needle wove in and out of her flesh. Finally, he cut a length of cloth and wrapped it around her middle tightly. "Done," he murmured, standing again.

Hikaru glared at both of them. "You're still a traitor."

She shot him a scalding look quickly. "I am not," she grunted, "And you could have killed me."

"You would've deserved it."

"You don't understand."

"I understand perfectly fine. You didn't kill the person assigned to you because you have some _relationship _with him. You stopped me and Kaoru from killing the family we were assigned because you're on _their _side," he reasoned calmly.

"You have no idea what was going through my head."

"Saved those _baspultes _is what you did. Betrayed Kira. Betrayed Tamaki. Betrayed _your father_. For what?"

He was really starting to piss her off. "She's _five_! And she has no goddamn _maetha _now either! She's exactly like me! She's going to grow up without a mother and it's _your fault_."

"She and her father were both supposed to die!" he spat back, sitting up. "The entire Narian royal family was supposed to die!"

"Their father was the only one that had anything to do with it. None of them deserved anything of what happened to them." She drew a deep breath to calm herself while Hikaru opened his mouth to retort with more nonsense on her treachery. "Nari and Kira are trying to do the exact same thing that Nari did to _us _20 years ago, only to each other! Did that help the world _at all_? _NO. _Stop trying to act all high and mighty when I did what I thought was right, Hikaru."

Now, the older twin seemed almost regretful as she gave him a cold glare and exited the tent again.

–

She was granted a week long leave home to recover. Though, now that she was home with her over-eccentric father she kind of wished that she could have stayed home at least until she was healed completely.

"My poor little girl! Who did this to you? Daddy will go get them!" he fretted the moment that she walked through the door with Hunny and Mori – who coincidentally had been sent to the Kiran palace for some sort of business with King Yuzuru. She gave a weak smile while he proceeded to crush the living daylights out of her.

She didn't want to tell on Hikaru – Mostly because that would result in the older red-head being maimed by either his parents or her father. No matter how much trouble he'd caused she didn't want him to be treated like that.

"It was an accident Dad. You know how clumsy I can be..."

"Namahi! You should really be more careful!" he scolded, shaking his finger. She was glad that he bought the poorly thought out excuse so easily. "Now, Yuzuru has requested to see me. So, I'm going to the castle! I'll be back later to check on you! Don't strain yourself!"

Namahi resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she sat down at the dining room table with a small loaf of bread and a bowl of leftover soup that was probably from her father's dinner the night before. She started scarfing it down as her father left. Hunny and Mori sat down with her. She offered them some food, which they took, mostly out of politeness.

"Nama-_kicsi _why'd Hika_-kicsi_ hurt you?" the blonde asked, with wise innocence. She sighed through her nose. It would just figure that the two older soldiers would figure it out.

Her reply was hesitant. But she eventually came to the conclusion that they were trust-worthy and told them the truth. "He... thinks I'm a traitor because I saved Princess Yuki and Prince Yuiichi. And... I didn't kill Kyoya like I was ordered to."

Hunny and Mori both observed her silently for a moment. "You see them as friends," the taller of the two intoned quietly. She nodded, tearing her eyes away from them with only slight shame.

"They didn't deserve it. Yuki's five. Yuiichi's suffered enough with the death of his wife. And Kyoya..." she trailed off, shaking her head slightly with a small smile, "He saved my life twice. Risked losing his father's approval multiple times. I couldn't just betray that trust."

She sighed softly while the small blonde tilted his head at her. "If you trust him with your secret, then he was worth saving," he murmured simply, shrugging his shoulders a bit, "We won't judge you for being merciful to a friend." Mori nodded in agreement, taking a bite of his bread.

Namahi felt her shoulders relax a bit, knowing that they weren't going to inform anyone of her betrayal. Her character judgment skills hadn't been hindered. Thank God.

–

That night, she slept horridly. Horrendously in fact. Mainly because of two things: A rising fever and the nightmares.

It wasn't always the same nightmare. It changed every time she managed to get back to sleep – which was about every hour to two hours. But they all were centered around the same single idea; The murder of the Third Narian Prince.

She woke up, practically screaming this time, for about the 6th time that night just after dawn. Her father came rushing in when he heard her crying out. "Haruhi," he murmured, sitting on the edge of her bed and drawing her toward him. His hand found its way to her forehead shortly after, tsking under his breath at her temperature. She groaned a bit but let his hand stay there. "Higher than it was last night." He sighed softly. "What was the nightmare this time?"

"Same thing," she muttered tiredly, rubbing her eyes. The damn infection was trying to tear her apart while her own magic and Kaoru's was trying to tear it apart. She thought that it was more of the magic overload in her body that was making her sick than the actual infection. She was half-witch but even she had a limit.

"You killing some guy?" She nodded, having opted not to tell her father about her friendship with Kyoya. He already knew that she interacted with him on a semi-regular basis. Besides, he still had a slight grudge against the Narian King for destroying Mora just when it was starting to evolve. "Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi. I highly doubt that's going to happen. We've been careful."

"I know it's just… a nightmare. But what about the Witching Dream? What if _this _is a Witching Dream? You know the last time I had a dream at all was when I was 12 right before Nari took over the Eastern Tip." Practically the only times she ever dreamed at all was when she had a Witching Dream, or rather a prediction of the future. She shut her eyes and leaned back on her pillows.

"Not every dream you have has to be a Witching Dream, sweetie. And it's been so long since you've had one that I'm starting to think it was just a childhood thing." She shook her head, still not convinced. Her teeth were worrying her bottom lip. "Prince Tamaki's coming to visit you later." A single soft groan left her lips before she could stop it. Ranka smiled a bit. "You know he's impossible to stop once he finds out that something's wrong with you."

Namahi resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Idiot Prince's antics, but continued to chew on her lip with worry, images from her most recent Maybe-Witching-Dream flashing through her mind.

_He was lying there and his blood was on her fingers, the blade used to kill him still in her shaking hands. She'd told him a thousand times not to do it. But he still had. Why? _

All the nightmares ended in that same situation where she'd wake up screaming right when she was starting to call for Kyoya in the dream.

This was one Witching Dream that she had to make sure wouldn't end that way. She had to make sure it wouldn't come true. But how? How the hell did you stop someone from falling for you when resisting falling for them seemed almost impossible as it was?

Ranka eyed his daughter as she worried endlessly – and needlessly in his honest opinion. Her eyebrows creased down in a frown while her top teeth seemed to be trying to wear straight through her bottom lip. "Haruhi, who is he?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "I dunno," she lied a little too quickly. Her father's eyes narrowed immediately.

"Haruhi," he said in that I'm-not-taking-any-of-this-lying-bullshit stern voice, "You wouldn't be so worried if you didn't know who it was. Sure, you'd be slightly concerned, but you're practically tearing a hole through your lip with your teeth." He gestured toward her mouth while she sighed and leaned her head back, eyelids fluttering closed tiredly. "Who is he? Tamaki? Hikaru or Kaoru?"

"No," she murmured, "No, no, no."

"Then who? One of the other soldiers in the army with you?"

"No, Dad. It's no one. Just don't worry about it." She could practically feel her temperature rising the more he questioned her.

"Tell me, Haruhi. You can trust your Papa!"

She sighed and brought a hand to rub temples in circles. He continued to chatter so she finally cracked and muttered, "Fine! It's…" she drew in a breath and swallowed, "It's Narian Prince Kyoya Ohtori alright?"

Her father's head tilted just the slightest to the left in confusion. "You… know him personally…?"

She could feel a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. "Yes. I've… Been in his bedroom before actually." She cursed her voice for raising an octave at the end of the sentence. Ranka's face reddened, both in anger and embarrassment at knowing something so private about his daughter's life. "It's not like we were doing anything _bad_, Dad!" she exclaimed defensively, "We just have to make it look like we're lovers to his family so they don't find out that I'm a soldier…" her voice gave out when he stood abruptly and glared at her. She stared back as calmly as she could when she was practically dying of fever. "And… He knows who we are," she added softly.

That was when Ranka Marioka blew up. "_WHAT?_"

He was loud, and continued to be so even when she tried to drown him out to explain. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE COULD DO TO US? WHAT IF HE TELLS HIS FATHER? OR WORSE, YOUR GRANDMOTHER? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Dad! He disagrees with his father's way of dealing with Moradians and he wouldn't wish the fate _Gritivmaetha _would have in store for us on _anyone_! He's not going to tell! Besides, he guessed! I didn't tell him! In fact, I did everything I possibly could to make sure that he _didn't _find out!"

Her father pursed his lips and turned on his heel. "If I find The Witch on my doorstep any time soon I'm going to go after that boy with a battle ax and a mace!" he threw over his shoulder angrily. She tried to rub away her oncoming headache but gave up after a few seconds and hunkered back down in her bed to sleep a bit more before Tamaki arrived.

–

An explosion of noise erupted the next time she cracked her eyes open, much to her headache's annoyance. "Tamaki," she groaned, "not so loud, you moron. I have a headache."

"And a fever. And an infection. And YOU COULD BE DYING FOR ALL I KNOW!" he stressed with loud angry noise. Her head pounded in protest. She pulled her covers over her head and growled under her breath. Between her father and her best friend she couldn't get a moment of rest.

"I'm not dying, Tamaki," she muttered, panting slightly from being too hot. "It's mostly magic overload, not the actual infection. And for God's sake, stop yelling. You aren't making it any better."

That quieted him down quickly. "Sorry," he muttered, voice so quiet that Namahi could hardly hear it. She chuckled softly, gazing at her best friend of 12 years. Then she groaned, realizing that she really _really _had to pee. She pushed the covers off of her carefully, pulling down her night shirt in the process. "What're you doing?" Tamaki exclaimed, "You shouldn't be moving, Namahi!"

"How else am I supposed to make it to the washroom?" she asked irritably, standing. She wobbled slightly on her feet, making him jump to his to help her. The moment his arm wrapped around her waist he froze while she stiffened, heart clenching as she realized that her chest wasn't bound – possibly a grave mistake. "Oh God," she breathed, eyes shooting to his face.

He remained frozen, trying to make sense of what was in front of him. Her father walked in, immediately noticing the tense air. He half-groaned, half-gasped, "It was only a matter of time." Proceeding to pull his daughter out of her best friend's clutches, they both looked at the Kiran Prince.

"You're a girl?" Tamaki shrieked.

–

Both Namahi's and Ranka's heads were pounding from all of the 21-year-old's questions. How long had she been a girl? Why hadn't he known? Why didn't anyone tell him? Who else knew? Why was she hiding her gender?

She felt like pounding her head on the table repeatedly until he shut up. Ranka, noticing his daughter's distress quickly swatted the blonde prince on the top of the head. His mouth shut quickly. Namahi's father moved toward the wood stove to fix her some soup. She and Tamaki were sitting at the dining room table. He was practically bouncing with anticipation for her answers.

"One: I'm pretty sure that I've always been a girl, Tamaki," she growled. "Two: You didn't know because you're an idiot and I've never told anyone, therefore no one ever told you. Three: Hikaru and Kaoru have known since we were 12. Mori and Hunny only since about a month ago. Four: I was hiding for a specific reason that I don't feel like sharing at the moment."

Actually, she felt like running to the bathroom again to barf up what little she'd eaten in the last few hours. Lord, she hadn't felt this sick in 4 years when she caught the influenza that had been going around the kingdom. She absolutely hated it when magic and infection fought each other so fiercely that she got even sicker than she should have been if it had only been the virus. Her hand came up to her head, rubbing her temple in a circular motion.

Ranka placed a small bowl of soup down in front of her. Her nose crinkled up slightly. "Eat, Namahi. You have to keep up what little strength you have," he spoke sternly. She groaned softly and picked up the spoon, stirring it around the bowl lazily.

"Why nooooot?" Tamaki whined, practically begging her to smack him.

"Because… I'm sick and I'm eating," she bit out between her teeth.

Her father cut in before the Kiran Prince could protest some more. "Your Highness, it's imperative that you don't inform anyone of Namahi's gender. I suspect that your father is already aware but if the army finds out she could be killed for treason."

The Prince's eyes widened greatly as he nodded vigorously. "Agreed. I won't tell a soul." He crossed his fingers over his heart exaggeratedly to complete the promise. She almost rolled her eyes but managed to stop herself from doing so.

–

Over the next few days she concentrated on recovering. Slowly her fever went down and her wound healed. Tamaki came by every day, seemingly becoming attached.

He was a charmer. She'd always known that, but never noticed the intensity of it since he had never turned those charms on her. It worried her sometimes though. Worried her that he might fall in love with her. That he'd make her a murderer. He wasn't like Kyoya. He didn't even try to control his emotions, wearing them on his sleeves constantly.

"Y'know… In the last 12 years, I didn't think once that you might be a girl," he murmured, leaning back in his chair a bit, "But now I see it clearly."

"What? That you're a moron?" she asked, snorting and biting into her sandwich. "Haven't I been telling you that for 10 years or more?"

"How did I not notice what a beautiful woman you are?" he continued like he hadn't heard her.

Her chest clenched much the same way that it did when Kyoya said or did something like that. Her eyes turned away. "Tamaki, don't say things like that," she mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

"But you are! Don't be modest, Namahi!" He kept going on about her beauty but she tried to turn him out.

"Don't say things like that!" she burst again, once more avoiding his eyes while clutching the front of her shirt. God, this man was going to be the death of her one day. Perhaps even sooner than she would have ever thought. He stopped abruptly and stared at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, trying to pull her hand from her chest.

"You can't just go around saying things like that! There are consequences!" Tamaki's eyebrows furrowed questioningly while she drew in a deep breath, staring directly in his bright violet-blue eyes. "The reason I was hiding my gender is because the Witch cursed me when I was little. She cursed me to kill any man that falls in love with me."

"W-What?"

"You can't say things like that, Tamaki. Not to me. I don't want to have to kill you. You're my best friend. I just… don't want to lose you. Y-You can't fall in love with me, alright? You can't. And you absolutely _cannot _say things like that. It tries to trigger the curse and makes my chest hurt. Just don't do it."

He was still staring at her with confusion but very slowly nodded. "Alright," he muttered, seeming slightly dejected. "Alright, Namahi."

–

Tamaki didn't want to her to leave when her leave was up. This would have been normal, but now that he knew she was a girl he was even more insistent to make her stay and quit the army. "Tamaki, I have to go. If I don't it's suspicious."

"Women shouldn't fight wars!" he spluttered in objection.

"Dammit! Be reasonable! They still think I'm a boy!"

"I'm coming with you then!"

"You're the Prince! The only heir! You can't be fighting! If you're killed then who will take over the throne?"

He fell silent, pursing his lips in the process. He thought that was a low blow. She knew that she shouldn't use his status against him but it seemed to be the only way to make him let her go. He hated being confined to the palace and Meira. She knew that. She also knew that there were times when he wished that he wasn't the Kiran Prince. That he wished he was just a high-middle class noble like she was.

She sighed under her breath. "Tamaki… Just… It's easier if I go. For me. I have a contract with the army for the next year that can only be broken if I'm discharged, found to be a traitor, or the contract expires. I have to honor that agreement. I'll be careful. I always am."

He muttered incomprehensively under his breath for a couple moments. Finally he pulled her into a hug, mumbling, "Alright. Alright… If you come back injured again though, I'm going to use my royal authority to pull you."

She smiled softly and nodded. "Agreed." He held her head to his chest for a few more moments until she pushed against him, her chest throbbing gently. "I've got to go." He nodded, releasing her reluctantly. "And you be careful too, Idiot Prince. Don't do anything stupid."

–

Mori and Hunny once again accompanied her. When they reached the camp, Hikaru and Kaoru jumped up from where they were sitting by one of the many fires cooking their supper. She avoided Hikaru's eyes and he stared stubbornly past her to her two companions. "Hello Mori, Hunny," he greeted.

She felt slightly dejected. She motioned toward the older red-head's twin and turned back the way she came again. The younger twin jumped up from where he was sitting to follow her, leaving his dinner in the hands of his twin. "Is he still angry with me?" she mumbled, looking back toward the campfire while they walked away.

"A bit. Not nearly as much as before though," the red-head replied softly, looking over at her. "What happened over there after we left?"

She swallowed, remembering how Kyoya had looked at her and how Yuki had still clung to her like she would have her real aunt. "Yuki clung to me. Kyoya was angry for a while but he got over it. Yuiichi wants me dead. Akito and King Yoshio are both in critical condition. Akito and Yuiichi's wives both died."

A small kind of pained look crossed Kaoru's face, taking a guilt trip with the knowledge that he'd been the one to take the life of Yuki's mother.

"Kyoya argued with Yuiichi in my defense. He still wants me dead." She faltered slightly, stopping in her tracks and closing her eyes. "He knows."

Kaoru let out a small noise that was somewhere caught between a gasp and a groan. "What?"

"He knows and he's given me his word that he'll keep it safe. He didn't want me to come back because he thought that you or Hikaru would tell and that would get me killed. I convinced him to let me leave. But barely. And… he asked me to marry him."

Kaoru's entire being froze. "Well… He didn't _ask _me. He made a _suggestion_. But he may as well have. Apparently I'm the only woman in Nari that he'd be inclined to take as a wife. And Narian royals apparently are either engaged or married when they take the throne by tradition. I told him I couldn't even pretend that I was engaged to him."

"Good," her companion nodded approvingly.

"The other thing is Tamaki," she muttered after a moment's hesitation. "He knows I'm a girl…"

"_What_? How the hell did _that _happen?"

"I forgot to bind my chest and had to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, stumbled, and he caught me?"

A groan fell from his lips. "Haruhi! Dammit! Now not only do we have to keep the _Narian _Prince from falling for you but now the _Kiran _one as well?"

She nodded sheepishly. "It's not like I _meant _for it to happen. And Dad made him promise that he wouldn't tell _anyone_. I should be safe."

"You better hope so, Haruhi. You better hope so."

–

**A/N: Sorry for the delay on this… IB is sucking up my life. And I got the tiniest bit stuck on it. My computer's charger cord jack thingy broke… So I'm borrowing my best friend's laptop until it gets replaced (Yaaaaay warranties). The space bar is kinda screwy so if a space is supposed to be somewhere and it's not sorry… (Though I doubt Koharu will miss it if it's there.) **

**Hohoho. So Tamaki knows now as well. Things are getting exciting hmm? **

**I **_**really **_**should start my English homework so that I don't have to do it all tomorrow… But I **_**really **_**wanted to get this done. (So dedicated…) **

**Kudos to: Mikame15, Mrs. Ootori43ver, BlackestNight BrightestDay, Jengurl24, Enigmaticrose4, XxNightshroudxX, The Phantom Devil (Double… Because I feel like you're the only one that made the amazing discovery of the foreign languages), Twilightrewriter, JUCHKO, GalanthaDreams, just a reviewer, and ItaSaku29. **

**Yay for 15 chapters? (At least by FF. net standards. By my standards it's 14 plus a prologue.) ****I have a feeling this is going to be longer than I thought it would be… (What on **_**earth **_**have I gotten myself into…?) **

**Sooooo. Who wants to do my horrible IB homework for me? –SHOT- **


	16. 15: Exodus Solmenitas

Lost in the Dark

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 15 – Exodus Solmenitas_

The General stood in front of Namahi, Kaoru, and Hunny while they ate. "Marioka, Hanizuka. Seems I should have let you stay in Meira. I completely forgot the Festival starts in 5 days."

The brunette's mouth twisted a bit in confusion while her eyebrows furrowed. "What festival?" she asked hesitantly, fearing the answer slightly. The only festival that the military would ever need to be in Meira for was international ones that included another country, usually Nari, Pait, or Witchland. As far as she knew there weren't any international festivals coming up.

"The Exodus Festival. Kira's turn to host."

She almost smacked herself. How could she have forgotten about The Exodus Festival? It was practically the biggest festival that was shared between every country in Filandria no matter how small. It celebrated the time when their ancestors had passed through the Outlands from _Vetus Terra _– The Old Lands – to escape the exhausted soil wracked with famine and disease nearly 1,000 years ago. The only inhabitable land available now was the land that the countries stood on as well as the few islands to the west.

Of course, there were also the 13 tribes who knew the ways of living in the Outlands and had inhabited them practically since the beginning of time. They lived completely apart from civilization though and rarely ever caused trouble.

"Oh," she replied intelligently while Kaoru muttered, "Shit."

"Protection details for it are going to be worked on by the royal guard and military combined. Even though there's supposed to be temporary peace in observation of the festival, I wouldn't put it past Nari to break the treaty."

Namahi almost snorted out loud. If Kyoya was King then there was no way that they would be breaking it unless the military took action by themselves – which wasn't likely. Just thinking about him made her shudder inside with memories of recent Witching Dreams.

"And we come into this where, Sir?" Hunny asked, serious-faced.

"The Hitachiins and Marioka will be at the royal court dinners of course, but they'll also be part of the protection for the palace and monitoring of the Narian royal family while they're here."

She wanted to groan out loud. Yes, King Yoshio and Prince Akito were both mostly bedridden but that wouldn't stop possible suspicion of her identity from arising. Normally, she and her father avoided The Exodus Festival like the plague since The Witch and other people that could possibly recognize them as the Moradian royal family usually attended. However, when Kira hosted they could do nothing but sit back and hope for the best while keeping their heads low.

She hated to think that in less than a week, Kyoya, Yuiichi, and Yuki would all be in her hometown. Not to mention Fuyumi Shido and her husband who already knew her as the youngest Ohtori's lover.

"You'll all be given your individual assignments soon enough. Marioka, I'd like a word with you in my tent after you're finished eating," General Fusawa finally finished, heading off in the direction of the door.

She let her head fall to the table with a _clunk _that rattled everything sitting on it. "I hate the damn Exodus Festival."

"Why's that Namahi?" Hunny asked sweetly.

"Makes me create more confusing, intricate lies and excuses to protect myself," she mumbled, lifting her head to rub her temples with her fingers.

"Try being your guard," Kaoru grumbled in response. Namahi shot him a look and glanced down at her mostly-finished bowl of soup, having suddenly lost her appetite to the apprehension of the coming Festival.

"Suppose I should go see General Fusawa _now _since I'm definitely not finishing this anymore," she grunted, pushing away from the table and standing to make her exit.

–

"Corporal Marioka, reporting, Sir!" Namahi saluted at attention minutes later while feeling dread in her stomach.

"At ease," the Kiran General murmured, standing in front of her as she relaxed. "You seemed worried about the coming Festival."

"The Narian royal family _will _recognize me, Sir. I have no doubts about that. I'm just worried of what they might do, regardless of whether I succeeded in killing the Third Prince or not and regardless of whether we're under holiday peace," she replied with a raised eyebrow.

He hummed in response as he thought, gazing at her the entire time. "I see. Well, I've assigned you to monitoring them while they're here since you're more familiar with their habits than others might be." She opened her mouth to object when he continued, "And I'd also like to assign you as Monat Squadron leader of Privates Hanizuka, Morinazuka, and both Hitachiins since they seem to look up to you as a leader anyway. I may add more later, but for now they will do."

She blinked a few times, not having expected that at all. _Squadron leader_? She couldn't do anything but stare at him stupidly for a moment before stuttering a quick, "Thank you, Sir."

"I'll leave you in charge of informing your Squadron members of their assignment. Don't be afraid to pull rank with them if they get objective. I know how the Hitachiins can get. Also, the Narian royal family will most likely bring their own guards as well. Girplush, Pait, and Muttpitt too. Try not to get into any conflicts with them."

She nodded sharply once. He waved his hand in dismissal. "More instructions to follow the next day or two, Marioka."

–

Kyoya had also forgotten about The Exodus Festival. Which, were his father awake, he probably would have gotten quite a lecture. Yuki had been the one to mention it. She was excited because she got to go to Kira for the first time, being part of the Narian royal family. He had fought the urge to ruin her utter joy by telling her that it wouldn't really be that much fun at all.

Yuiichi was still mourning for his wife. He found Yuki being pushed into his bedroom more often than not so he could watch after her while his brother went God-only-knew where. The youngest Ohtori seriously thought that his eldest brother was going to end up staying at the palace while he and Yuki went to Kira for the Festival.

"Is Auntie Haru coming with us Uncle Kyo?" Yuki asked innocently while she played with some of her dolls on his bedroom floor.

He hesitated for moment at the mention of Haruhi, his niece's adopted aunt. "I don't think so, Yuki," he murmured, peering at her from his seat at his bedroom desk. Then he rethought that statement since she could very well be there since her Father was part of the Kiran royal court. "She might decide to go on her own, but she isn't coming with us."

The 5-year-old Princess looked sad. Kyoya sighed, wondering where the hell his brother always went off to when he left his daughter there. "Do you want to go visit Uncle Aki?" he asked her.

A thoughtful look took over her features as she thought about it, then she nodded vigorously. He stood while she jumped up and raced out the door, only to run into her father. "Hi Daddy!" she exclaimed.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" the 32-year-old asked, placing his hands under her arms and lifting her up onto his hip.

"To visit Uncle Aki!"

"Ahh. Well, he'll be incredibly happy to see your shining face."

Yuki beamed at her dad then glanced at her Uncle. "Can we go see Grandpa too, Uncle Kyo?"

The two brothers glanced at each other, not sure if it was a good idea to let the 5-year-old see their comatose father. Carefully, Yuiichi replied, "Yes… You can. Just don't wake him up while you're there, alright sweetie? He needs his rest." She nodded eagerly and hopped down out of her father's arms, grabbing her uncle's hand and pulling him excitedly toward Akito's bedroom.

He was sitting up in bed, looking at the ceiling, when they entered. He was definitely bored. Had he been able to move his legs he probably would have been stumbling around somewhere just to _do something_. Kyoya smirked. "Bored, Akito?" The elder looked up quickly. "You've got a visitor." He tugged Yuki's hand so she could come and stand in front of him.

"Uncle Aki!" she cried, running over and climbing up on his bed to hug him. Akito smiled a bit, despite the slight pain that shot through his arm when he pulled his niece to him. Kyoya watched from the door while the two talked, still smirking to himself.

Yuki could make anyone smile.

"Will you be well enough in 3 days to travel to Kira with us?" he called.

His brother looked over. "Hopefully. Being stuck in this damn place is boring as hell. Perhaps a wheelchair of some sort will allow me to go."

"I want you to come too, Uncle Aki!" Yuki exclaimed, squeezing him even tighter. "It'll be my first time in Kira! I want you to be there with me! Grandpa too!"

Kyoya cut in quickly. "I don't think Grandpa will be ready to travel in 3 days, Yuki," he said softly. Her expression faltered for a moment, her head tilting to the side slightly in confusion. He could tell that the gears were turning in her head trying to figure out why her Grandpa wasn't healing like her Uncle Aki.

Then a light bulb seemed to go off over her head and her expression darkened. "Grandpa's… not doing well is he?"

He sighed and walked over to sit on the edge of Akito's bed, glancing at his brother on the way. "No, Yuki. He isn't," he murmured.

If possible, her expression darkened even more with sadness. "He's going to die isn't he?" Her lower-lip quivered, shoulders shuddering with the effort of trying to hold back her tears and be a big girl.

"Not necessarily," Akito said quickly. "He's sleeping right now. There's a chance that he'll wake up soon but not now."

"Yuki, you know that Grandpa's too strong to die and leave you," Kyoya murmured, hoping against all hopes that he wasn't lying to his niece as he spoke. Yuki wasn't one to hate people but if you lied to her about anything she could hold a mean grudge. It would _seem _like she hated you for the longest time until she got over it.

Her shoulders still shook, lips quivering. Kyoya and Akito both sighed under their breaths simultaneously, glancing at each other. "I'll go see if we can get you a wheelchair," the younger muttered, leaving his niece in the care of his paralyzed brother for awhile.

–

Kyoya stood back while Yuki lay next to her grandfather, her little arm wrapped around him as far as it could reach. She was completely silent, just keeping her face buried in his shoulder. "If you talk he can hear you," he said quietly, striding over next to the bed.

The small girl just shook her head and sobbed a little. "Grandpa c-can't die. Not like Mommy and-and Auntie Chi."

He laid a hand on his niece's back and stroked awkwardly. He really wasn't very good with the entire comforting thing. Even if she was only 5 and only really needed to be held and reassured that everything would be fine. "We won't let him die, Yuki."

Maybe Akito's agreement to go with them would help cheer her up. He half-wondered if Kira even knew that he was the Narian King at the moment or that his father was in a coma while one brother was paralyzed and the other emotionally unstable.

Yuki continued to sob over her grandfather with Kyoya stroking her back gently. He felt his heart twist slightly. This small little girl had been through so much between watching her mother die and losing an aunt and possibly her grandfather in the process. He let her cry for a bit longer then tugged her gently away, holding her close as he carried her out of the room.

5 days until the festival. 3 days until they left. 14 days until they'd be home again.

–

Namahi wanted to crawl into a hole and die as she and her squadron of 4 sat on horseback at the Narian-Kiran border, watching the carriage that concealed the Narian royal family come closer and closer. Her stomach was practically turning itself inside out with nerves. Yuki and Akito – if he came – could possibly recognize her as someone that she wasn't while in Kira.

She hated all the secrets. And the lies.

Yet she couldn't help feeling content knowing that she'd been assigned this job where she could keep an eye on where they all were so she could avoid them if necessary. The carriage finally came to a stop beside them. Kyoya's head poked out the carriage window as she approached. "We're supposed to accompany you to the palace, Your Highness," she murmured, forcing herself to be polite and act like she didn't know he was King.

The Narian King smirked a bit and muttered, "It would be like Kira to send a squadron to look after us. They _would _suspect us of breaking the peace of the festival. Nonetheless, we will be doing no such thing."

Namahi tilted her head in a gesture of politeness. "I was merely following orders, Your Highness."

"As I guessed, Corporal...?"

"Corporal Namahi Marioka."

"Lead the way, Corporal Marioka."

The two of them shared a look that told her all she needed to know. He would protect her as long as she did as much as she could to protect herself. She steered her horse toward the front of the carriage, pointing Hikaru and Kaoru on either side while Mori and Hunny took the back.

"He's the soldier that healed the King and took down the barrier," Akito growled under his breath, having recognized the name. Kyoya resisted the urge to snort while Yuiichi glared at him. Yuki practically bounced in her seat the whole way there chanting, "I'm in Kira! I'm in Kira!"

–

They arrived just in time for the opening banquet that night. All Namahi really wanted to do was go home and go to sleep but she knew that wouldn't be an option for at least another few hours. Sometimes she really hated that her father was part of the royal court. It dragged her into even more duties than she normally would have been obligated to do.

She could even feel a headache coming on as she took her seat next to her father and across from Kyoya, removing her military cap. Her hair was tied back anyway so the chances of Akito – who she had been surprised to see in a wheelchair regardless of what Kyoya had told her of his condition previously – or Yuki recognizing her were minimized slightly.

She sighed a bit under her breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Namahi," her father asked softly, leaning over, "Are you alright?"

She nodded, smiling slightly at his concern and muttered back, "I'm fine, Dad. Just a slight headache." Hikaru and Kaoru both sat between their parents on her right, glancing at her occasionally. There was an awkward silence while wine glasses were filled by servants.

She felt Akito's hateful stare the entire time and wanted to sink into a hole somewhere for the next week that the four of them would be there. Fuyumi and her husband sat next to Kyoya, Fuyumi looking at her curiously then at her youngest brother, but making no comment.

_'She knows,' _a voice told her in the back of her head.

"Yuiichi," Yuzuru addressed the oldest Ohtori sibling, who glanced up. "I've noticed that your father is absent. Your wife and Akito's as well." Kyoya's eyes looked at his eldest brother while Yuiichi's closed to hold in the pain.

Kyoya answered for him, albeit stiffly, "Father's... Unable to come. He's in a coma actually." Namahi quickly noted that Yuki's eyes downcast toward her plate at the mention of her grandfather's current state. Her heart twisted. "As for Mayuri and Sachi, they both passed on about 2 weeks ago."

Akito's glare intensified on her. Her headache increased.

"Which of you is acting as King then?" Tamaki piped up, almost instantly regretting it as Kyoya shot him a cold stare.

Yuzuru also gave his son a stern look before murmuring, "My condolences to both of you." He nodded his head at the two oldest Narian Princes, taking a sip of his wine.

"I am acting as King at the moment," Kyoya spoke quietly. "You may have noticed that Akito's paralyzed from the waist down and Yuiichi doesn't want to make any rash decisions because of his wife's death."

"The youngest. Interesting. I always told Yoshio when you were little that you'd be an amazing son."

Kyoya remembered the conversations he'd overheard between his father and King Yuzuru. Before the war had started when he'd been no older than 8. Before his mother had died. He could remember Yuzuru mentioning how much he'd grown and how intelligent he was even at that age. "Age has nothing to do with ability to rule," he grunted. Namahi felt Tamaki's eyes looking at her like they were saying 'I told you so.'

–

"Hikaru, Kaoru, monitor Prince Yuiichi and his daughter. Hunny, Mori, Princess Fuyumi and Prince Akito. Fuyumi may be Paitet but she still falls under our jurisdiction since she's Narian by blood." Hikaru, having cooled off quite a bit still glared at her occasionally when given orders.

"And you'll take King Kyoya?" Hunny interjected softly, gazing at her. She nodded, swallowing a bit.

"He knows me. Even if I did try to kill him. I know most of his habits and personality. It'll be easiest for me to watch him than any of you," she muttered, saluting and sending them off. They obeyed silently. "And don't get into any fights with the Narian guard!" she called after them.

"You know, giving orders right outside the Narian King's bedroom isn't the best idea," a dry voice spoke from behind her. She spun around so fast that she almost fell over, half-drawing her sword from her belt.

"It's not the best idea to startle an on-duty, armed, enemy solider either," she retorted, giving Kyoya an exasperated look. "We shouldn't be speaking in the hall of all places either," she added softly, looking down the hall where Tamaki's bedroom lay only down the stairs.

He shrugged and motioned her inside his room. "You look... well," he grumbled sarcastically.

She snorted. "I only spent a week in bed with a high fever and infection. My best friend only found out that I'm a _girl_ while I was sick. And I'm only trying to hide multiple identities from over half the people that were sitting at that damn table."

"Tamaki knows you're a girl?"

"Yes, unfortunately. And that idiot isn't as controlled as to not flatter me every chance he gets just because I'm female either." She licked her lips a bit drily, laughing a little at the irony. "And here I thought I'd get away from those cursed chest pains."

He crossed his arms over his chest and muttered, "I assume your team knows your situation?"

"Yes. All four of them know that I'm female and that I trust you. Only Kaoru knows that I've been giving you information though."

His sister, of course, chose that exact moment to barge in the door. "_Utleli Uherbro!_" Kyoya brought a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose while Haruhi just stood there. "Oh! Haruhi! Great to see you again!" She didn't seem phased by the fact that she was wearing a Kiran military uniform, confirming Haruhi's suspicions that she knew. "Yuki will be thrilled to see you as well!"

Kyoya and the brunette shared a look, the male adjusting his glasses on his face before muttering, "It's better if Yuki isn't aware that she's here. And also that Akito isn't informed that she's the same person he previously coerced back home."

Fuyumi frowned. "What about _Hbi Uherbro_?"

"He's... already aware. And though he doesn't agree with my choice to spare her– " Haruhi flinched at his word choice, "–he has decided to let me have full rein on any punishments pertaining to her actions."

"Ah." A brief moment of silence followed, since the full impact of the situation seemed to push itself down on the 28-year-old. "Oh... So... She's actually Kiran. Not a spy. Oh."

"I'm neutral on the war. If that makes any sense in your judgment," the brunette interjected quickly.

Kyoya rolled his eyes while Fuyumi gave a fast reply of, "Oh no. I don't think any less of you because of it. I trust _Utleli Uherbro_'s decisions anyway." A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face while She scratched the back of her head. "I'm just worried about what _Uherfa_ would say if he knew."

"He doesn't and won't know," the 21-year-old murmured. "Which is why it's lucky that he's still in a coma. Akito's intelligence isn't quite to par with Father's. He didn't recognize her while there's a 90 percent chance that Father would have."

Frankly, she was just glad that he hadn't recognized her as the Moradian Princess since she did look remarkably like her mother. Of course she didn't say this out loud since she was sure that Kyoya's sister didn't know who she was. "Well," she muttered, "Suppose I should check in with my team before heading home. Dad's probably beside himself with excitement for tomorrow."

She headed for the door only to be stopped by a hand on her wrist. She looked down at it then and Kyoya's face. "Haruhi," he addressed softly, "It would be wise to keep your hair tied back. I think that's what makes it harder to recognize you." She swallowed back the knot that was forming in her throat and nodded, uttering a quiet thanks as she left the two siblings to their conversation.

–

**A/N: Braces. Suck. Ass. That is all. If you can avoid them… FOR GOD'S SAKE DO IT. **

**Ohhhh Yuki makes me smile to write. And she's just so lovable. Don't you think? I love Fuyumi too. **

**Just an FYI. The Exodus Festival is a week long. Because I like my time increments to be even and not random amounts of days. You'll see all the events (There's 5. A lot like a medieval olympics. This was the opening banquet. There will be a closing one too.) Girplush and Muttpitt are lesser countries who's royal families will be shown soon enough. Witchland is – obviously – The Witch's land. You'll see a bit of her. The Kiran royal **_**court **_**is the only court there because they're the hosting country. Other royal courts aren't obligated to attend. **

**I've found that I need to take frequent writing breaks just to get through my homework. It keeps my brain from going into information overload. My mom doesn't understand though and yells at me whenever she sees me on the computer. FML. **

**Kudos to: Enigmaticrose4, ItaSaku29, Mrs. Ootori43ver, Mikame15, JUCHKO, Jengurl24, just a reviewer, Twilightrewriter, sadevotchka, The Phantom Devil, and XxNightShroudxX. Oh and Koharu Veddette for being my lovely editor~ **


	17. 16: Spreading Secrets

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 16 – Spreading Secrets_

Haruhi woke rather early to her father's excited squealing. She glanced angrily at the window and groaned. "Dad! It's hardly even an hour past sun-up! Go back to sleep!"

Ranka persisted in nagging her awake. "Haruhi!" he whined, "Jousting's today! You know it's my favorite! It's the only thing that I go to during the festival every year!"

"You know I can't watch with you," she grumbled, "I have military duties. So go on by yourself."

"But that's why I'm waking you up! You have to get the Narian royals there! Come oooooon! It starts in an hour!" She sat up a bit at the mention of it being in an hour. Dammit, that meant she had to get up. Who knew how long it would take to wake Kyoya. Not to mention she was down a team member since Mori was participating in the jousting. She mumbled incoherently under her breath and she unwillingly pulled herself from bed.

–

She arrived at Kyoya's bedroom 30 minutes later, yawning like crazy. She knocked once before allowing herself in. He didn't even stir. She sighed. And so the fun began. "Kyoya," she murmured, shaking his shoulder from where she stood next to the bed.

Nothing.

"Kyoya. You have to get up." More shakes.

Nothing.

"I know it's early, Kyoya. But you have to get up. Royal families are required to attend." She heard something like an intelligible grunt come from his mouth but he didn't stir much. "Kyoya, you ha–!" Haruhi was cut off abruptly by her wrist being snatched, cold onyx eyes stared straight into hers.

"Haruhi," he growled, "If you value your life. You'll leave. Now."

"I value my life," she murmured, "But it might be threatened by more than just you if you don't get out of bed right now. The jousting tournament starts in 30 minutes. You're King. As King you have responsibilities to attend to."

"Don't lecture me," he grunted.

"Seems like I must since your father isn't in the right state to do so."

That seemed to be a low blow. Hell, what was she thinking, it _was _a low blow. His lips pursed in anger, eyes tearing away from hers. "I'm sorry," she muttered quickly, "That... just came out." Silence overtook them as the elder stared at the other with eyes burning like fire. Oh how she _hated _getting on his bad side early in the morning. "Kyoya, you need to get up. You're expected down in the arena stands in 25 minutes now."

A frustrated growl emitted from his lips as he rolled out of bed finally. "Tie your hair back," he commanded, still sounding angry from being woken at such an ungodly hour of the morning. Of course, she'd forgotten all about her hair, so the reminder was quite welcome as he pushed her toward the door. She stood outside the door waiting for him, tugging her hair lightly into a neat but loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. While she was standing there she let her head fall back to rest on the wall behind her, letting go of her worries for a few minutes like leaves on the wind.

Her relaxation was interrupted by a certain Narian Prince's voice. "Well? Are we going or not?" he asked sourly, scowling at her. He was wearing a white dress shirt with black trousers and dark purple tailcoat, she noted subconsciously. He didn't really seem like a robe-wearing kind of King anyway. Haruhi rolled her eyes and led the way, noticing two Narian guards take the rear.

"What're their names?" she asked him quietly.

He glowered at her before replying a bit offhandedly, "_Bincapt _Ritsu Kasanoda and _Korma _Umehito Nekozawa. My guards." She'd never seen or personally met his guards before. She thought she recognized the red head from the two times she'd been to the dungeon before. But the other she was sure she'd never met. "Yes, Kasanoda is one from your last trip to the dungeon. And he doesn't speak Kiran." He read her mind. Again. Sometimes she really wondered if he'd ever stop doing that.

–

"Will you be participating in any of the events Your Majesty?" Haruhi asked as she stood by Kyoya's side, watching the opening ceremony commence only about 50 yards away.

They lit the six sacred torches – one for each country – which would burn with the colored fire of each separate nation for the entire week until the closing ceremony at the end. They then told the condensed version of the ancient tale of The Exodus, which was sure to be reenacted later in detailed form both between professional actors and as a child's play for the entertainment of the many people attending.

"One," the Narian King replied, more focused on Yuki's bouncing form in the seat next to him than the actual events happening. "Yuiichi and Nekozawa are both participating in magical combat. Kasanoda in fencing. Akito would be doing jousting if he weren't paralyzed. As it is, Fuyumi's husband is jousting for Pait while someone else takes over Akito's place for Nari." He licked his lips as if to emphasis his distaste in his brother's condition. "You?"

"One as well. Care to guess which? I lose one member of my team to every event it seems."

"Hand-to-hand Combat perhaps for yourself?" She nodded, noticing his smirk immediately. "We may just be paired then." She swallowed subconsciously, knowing that her gender could easily make her lose if she were to be paired with him.

"Don't suppose you'd go easy on me if we were."

"Not a chance," Kyoya murmured, applauding with the rest as the tale-teller retreated out of center-arena. The arena – which wasn't _really _an arena but a large old horse corral that had been rebuilt – had a short wall that the average grown adult could easily see over while standing, closing in where the participants would do their events. A wrought-iron gate stood at either side of the corral as the only entrances and exits to the center. Around the wall were a multitude of wooden benches, raised in platforms that proceeded upward gradually and held up by the magic of Kiran magicians.

Each nation had a specific area for seating, but no one was obligated to sit in that area if they didn't wish to. As Haruhi observed her surroundings she noticed that very few were sitting outside of their country's seating. She also noticed that Girplush's royal seating had two extra people from the last time she'd been to a festival – 6 years ago when Kira had hosted the last time, she'd been 14.

She also saw a certain blonde idiot heading straight for her. "Dammit," she whispered under her breath as he bounced up in front of her. "Tamaki! You're supposed to be sitting with your family!" she scolded.

"But Namahi!" he whined, "I wanted to watch with you!"

She sighed exasperatedly. "If you're here how are your guards going to watch you?"

"But, they're right over there!" he exclaimed, pointing at his two semi-frazzled looking guards – one of which happening to be Romesa. She noticed Kyoya smirk out of the corner of her eye and resisted the urge to glare at him.

"I can keep an eye on him Romesa!" she called to calm the slightly older guards nerves.

"'Re ye sure, Namahi?" he asked back.

"Positive!" She sighed again and muttered a quick introduction, "Tamaki, King Kyoya. Your Majesty, Prince Tamaki."

"And I'm Yuki!" the 5-year-old cheered from her seat next to Kyoya, though her wide-eyed expression showed something more akin to anxiousness and fear.

Her uncle glanced at her and murmured, "Stop fidgeting or I'll make you go sit with your father." Then he turned his gaze to Haruhi's best friend. "Pleasure. We've met before on several occasions though, Corporal. Introductions are not necessary."

"Last time we met though you were still a Prince," Tamaki muttered. He didn't seem the happiest he'd ever been. And she could feel something tense between the two. Of course, they were also princes of two rival countries. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Having these two meet was either the best or worst thing that had ever happened to her. Tamaki wasn't distracted by the Narian King for very long. As his father stood to announce the beginning of the jousting tournament, he exclaimed, "Namahi! It's starting!"

It was almost ridiculous how child-like he was even after attending 20 festivals. "Tamaki. It isn't like you haven't seen a festival before," she said, clearly unamused by his behavior.

"But it's different every year! And Mori's participating this year!"

"It's the same _concepts_!" She pursed her lips, never having cared much for the games. "People practically trying to kill each other without actually doing it. Like the war. Except without actually murdering anyone."

"If you disagree so wholeheartedly on the war and the festival events then why are you a soldier and why partake in them?" Kyoya asked coolly, smirking at her from his seat.

She again resisted the urge to glare at him and mumbled, "That is not up for debate, Your Majesty. Nor is it any of your business, with all due respect." He already knew perfectly well why. Or at least he should have figured it out by now. She had to remind herself that they had to pretend as though they didn't know each other. "Tamaki." She turned and found that he had disappeared. "Damn that boy."

"He'll drive his guards mad I'm sure," Kyoya murmured in amusement, glancing in his niece's direction to find her missing as well. "Dammit, Yuki." Great. That was just what Haruhi needed. A missing 5-year-old Princess. Who knew what trouble she could get herself in.

"I'll go find her," she muttered, vaguely wondering where his brothers were along with the twins and Hunny. She slipped away from Kyoya's side, hearing the cheers from the crowd as the first joust commenced. Thinking the logical place for the 5-year-old to have run off to was outside of the arena she exited quickly, hurrying along while trying to look over the heads of passing people.

"Yuki!" she called, cursing to herself in her mind. She caught sight of red-hair, as familiar as it was bright. "Hikaru!" He turned and waited for her to catch up with him. "Have you seen Yuki? She snuck away from her Uncle when we weren't looking. And where the _hell _are Kaoru and Hunny with the other two?"

Hikaru replied heavily, "Kaoru and Prince Yuiichi are around somewhere. Same with Hunny and Prince Akito. Haven't seen Yuki. Been looking for her actually. She was with you?" He scratched the top of his head while she nodded. "She ran off when I was on my way down to the arena with her."

"She must've been looking for Kyoya." He stiffened at how easily she said his name without a title attached. Then she saw her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Yuki, staring at them wide-eyed. "Yuki!" she yelled, pushing through the crowd toward her. The 5-year-old took off.

"I'll get h–."

"No, just find Kaoru and Hunny and tell them to get the Princes to the Narian Royal seating. I'll get Yuki." She full-out ran after the small head of dark hair that was flowing away from her.

They were nearly outside of the palace gates by the time Haruhi caught up to the little girl, taking hold of her arm. "Yuki." To her surprise Yuki started yelling and crying.

"No! No, I won't go back! No! Let go!" She struggled fiercely as well until the brunette managed to her her turned around to face her.

"Yuki. Yuki! Calm down!" Yuki was quickly drawing the stares and whispers of people around her. Haruhi quickly pulled her off to the side, still holding her arms tightly. She'd stopped wailing now and was just sniffling and sobbing. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked softly, brushing her hair out of her face. The 5-year-old just shook her head and tried to pull herself out of her grasp.

She sighed, an idea flitting slightly into her head. She smiled a bit and pulled off her cap, tugging her hair down. "Au-Auntie Haru?"

Haruhi nodded a little and murmured, "What's the matter?"

She pointed behind her, wrapping her arms around the 20-year-old's neck. "He was the one that killed mommy," she whispered, her eyes tearing up. The brunette slid her arms around the girl's tiny waist, knowing Hikaru was behind her by the intensity of Yuki's shaking.

"I see," Haruhi replied softly. "He's not going to hurt you. We're under the festival peace remember?"

"Tamaki's scary too."

This time she almost laughed right out loud. Tamaki? Scary? Really? Sure, his exuberance was discontenting sometimes but scary? She managed only to chuckle. "Tamaki's harmless. Really he is. Wouldn't hurt a fly." Yuki giggled a little as the older tickled her. "No one's going to hurt you here, Yuki." She stood and held out her hand. "Let's head back to Kyoya, hmm? And you can't tell your Uncle Aki I'm here, alright?"

Yuki tilted her head a bit. "Why?"

"I just... don't want him to know I'm here. It's not a good idea."

"Okay, Auntie Haru," she said softly, still confused but excepting the excuse given to her. Haruhi pulled her hair back again, replacing her cap on her head and took Yuki's hand. They brushed past a slightly stunned Hikaru who muttered a quick report on the whereabouts of the rest of her team.

–

The rest of the jousting tournament went on without problem. Meals were served during breaks. Yuki glanced between her uncle and Haruhi constantly as if expecting something to happen between the two. Akito glared at her every chance he got while Yuiichi ignored her for the most part. The finalists from each country lined up proudly center-arena. King Yuzuru stood once again, ready to announce them before breaking for supper.

"We've seen amazing athletes here today! But these are the 8 champions who will compete after dinner! From Charton, Prince Gregory Grantaine! Girplush's Hamo Espel! Jed Parle for Muttpitt! Kastor Gargon and Hiso Charlote from Nari! Pait's own King Fuko Shido! And for Kira, Private Takashi Morinazuka and Charlie Weston!"

Hunny and Tamaki both cheered loudly at the announcement of Mori's name. Haruhi clapped with a smirk on her face. Akito was in a foul mood since he thought that he should have been down there. "Blasted legs," he muttered under his breath.

A few more words with the pairings and they were on their way to dinner.

The Narian royal family decided to take dinner with the Paitet one. Out of politeness, Kyoya invited Tamaki to join them. Haruhi, of course, ate with them as well, assuming the position of their monitor so the rest of her squadron could have a break.

Yuki still looked apprehensive of Tamaki but quickly warmed up to him as he sat next to her during dinner. Romesa and the Kiran Prince's other guard looked apprehensive of the Narian and Paitet royal families.

Tamaki, of course, being the one that always had to butt into other people's private lives turned to Kyoya and asked, "Are you planning on marrying soon?"

Both he and Haruhi stiffened. Without glancing at her, the Narian King replied with a vague, "Perhaps."

Fuyumi barely held in a snort while Akito muttered, "If Haruhi will take him, he means." Haruhi herself felt like crawling into a hole somewhere and dying as half the table glanced at her when her name was mentioned.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki inquired, the ever curious idiot and thankfully oblivious to the glances at his best friend. Kyoya didn't seem to keen on sharing details from his personal life.

"His lover," Fuyumi offered, earning her a glare from her youngest brother.

"Ohhh! I have to know now! How long has it been?"

The Narian King gritted his teeth but managed to get out, "4 months." Then, predicting the next question of the idiotic blonde he added, "And yes. I care about her deeply." Silence met this statement. Yuiichi's jaw tightened in the slightest. Akito gripped his fork tighter. Tamaki stared at him both in awe and slight fright. Fuyumi and Yuki both suppressed giggles. And Fuyumi's husband, Fuko, remained indifferent. But Haruhi's heart yanked so hard in her chest that her hand shot to the front of her shirt while she stood abruptly, leaving the room with a quickly muttered, "Excuse me. Restroom."

Tamaki frowned as he looked after her. Kyoya kept a straight face, though he knew it was because of him that she had left. "I'll be right back," Tamaki murmured, leaving his place at the table as well. He found her just down the hall, leaning against the wall trying to breathe correctly.

"That bastard's going to be the death of me," she whispered under her breath as he approached.

"Namahi?" he asked softly, cautiously stepping closer like he might startle her so badly that she'd shatter into a million delicate pieces.

"Tamaki," she sighed, really wishing that he had just stayed back at the dinner table.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine. Just not feeling all that great." No sooner had the words left her mouth than his arms were pulling her into his embrace. She sucked in a gasp of pain as her chest wrenched yet again. But for some reason she still felt compelled to lean into him, head resting on his chest. Her entire chest ached terribly, causing a slight shudder to run through her.

Her hands shook ever so slightly as they clutched the front of her best friend's shirt, willing herself – her curse – not to murder him right there. She hated this. She hated this retched curse that kept her from the people she cared about most. She hated being on edge all the time like the next comment someone made was going to be the deciding one on her curse.

Neither of them kept track of how long they stood there in the hall outside of the Narians' dining room. But eventually, Haruhi's hands loosened until they completely fell back to her sides. Tamaki removed his arms. "Better?" he asked softly. She drew in a deep breath and nodded, unaware of the significance of the event that had just occurred.

–

Haruhi stood between and slightly behind Kyoya and Tamaki. The two talked occasionally, seeming to get along just fine despite being the royalty of warring countries. They didn't really pay attention to the competition below them until Mori stood at one end while his opponent, Narian Kastor Gargon, stood at the other.

Akito sat up a little higher in his wheelchair, eyes directed exactly on the man who had replaced him in the event he was supposed to participate in.

The horses seemed restless and tired from all the work they'd had to do with the jousting tournament, thus making it a bit harder for the people riding them to make them charge. They waited impatiently on either end of the arena until the flag went down. Spurred on by the heels of their riders, they ran forward at full speed, jousting sticks lowering gradually.

Kastor's stick grazed Mori's arm but didn't budge him at all on the seat of his horse while Mori's just missed hitting his opponent's chest full on. Haruhi tried to remain indifferent even though she really wanted her friend to win.

A second charge found Kastor jabbed halfway off his horse while Mori rode firm. The Narian quickly readjusted himself before the third charge. Akito would have jumped up if he could have, thinking that the Kiran champion had fallen but instead Kastor did while Mori toppled only a bit.

Tamaki jumped to his feet instead, squealing in hers and Kyoya's ears. "HE WON. HE WON. NAMAHI, KYOYA, HE WON."

Kyoya rubbed his temples while Haruhi tried hard not to smack him. She was honestly ready to go home. Hell, she'd been ready to go home before she'd even left.

–

"If Uncle Gregory hadn't off-balanced Mori with that second whack then he would have gone on the the finals!" Tamaki exclaimed, scowling as Kyoya, Haruhi, and he all stood outside of Tamaki's bedroom.

"Gregory had too much of an edge on him," Kyoya muttered, "He knew where Private Morinazuka's weakness was." He seemed very smug that the Narian champion, Hiso Charlote had come through to first defeat Girplushin Hamo Espel and then the Charton Prince in perfect sequence.

The blonde opened his mouth to object again but Haruhi cut him off. "Go to bed Tamaki. Another long day tomorrow. Archery. And I know you'll be screaming when Kaoru wins like we all know he's capable of."

Tamaki sighed heavily, like a child told to go to bed when they didn't want to, and sauntered into his bedroom with hung head. He loosely hugged Haruhi on the way past before bidding them both goodnight and shutting the door behind him. Kyoya and Haruhi turned and headed toward the Narian King's temporary room.

"The Witch," he informed softly, "Is arriving tomorrow and will be gone again by the hand-to-hand combat tournament." She'd almost forgotten all about her grandmother. Now she stared at him. "You didn't forget did you?"

"Um," she mumbled, scratching the back of her head, "I was more worried about your brother."

He snorted. "Haruhi, if my brother recognizes you he'll just think I'm a moron for loving someone like you. And saving you." Her heart twisted and twinged violently, eliciting a large gasp from her until he amended his statement, "Supposedly loving. He and everyone else but Yuiichi are convinced I am." She relaxed a bit as the pain in her chest did. "Your grandmother, however," he continued as if nothing had happened, "Will kill you if she recognizes you. Because _she _will know that you're the Moradian Princess right off the bat."

"I understand that, Kyoya," she muttered crossly, annoyed with being lectured by him. "I didn't really think much about her though since she isn't here as of yet."

"She will be tomorrow. And she'll be sitting with us. Warn your father not to go to the games tomorrow and see if you can get someone to cover for you as well. I don't want you anywhere near that arena while she's there."

She thought he was being a bit too overprotective but didn't dare say a single word against him, seeing the look in his eye that was sharper than an eagle telling her not to object. "Alright, alright," she conceded, "I'll try to see if I can wrangle one of the Paitet guards or Romesa into it." Coming up with the excuse as to why she couldn't attend though would be difficult. She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Goodnight, Kyoya." He returned the farewell with a slight smile on his lips.

–

Haruhi was very delighted to be able to sleep in the next morning, even if it was only for a short while. And even so she still had to brief her team _and _show up for part of the archery games that day. She'd managed to coerce Romesa into taking her place without much trouble, provided that she'd find someone else trustworthy enough to watch after the Kiran Prince.

Now, she was walking along the hall toward Kyoya's bedroom so Romesa wouldn't have to discover the horrors of waking the Narian King in the middle of his slumber. Right when she got outside the door she heard voices. Male and female.

She recognized the male one as Kyoya. But the female one was unfamiliar, though she felt like she should know it from somewhere.

"I don't want anything to do with you this week, Witch," she just barely heard the Narian growl from inside the room. She covered her mouth to hold in a gasp. "And I won't have you meeting her. She's mine and you will not corrupt her."

"Oh, but _Your Majesty_ you know that your father would rather have me meet her and approve. Besides, she's named after _my _dead granddaughter. That just makes me more interested!" Haruhi closed her eyes, drawing from the conversation that they were talking about her.

"No! I don't care what yours or Father's opinions are on Haruhi! If I care to marry her than I will! Now get out."

Her chest wretched with that same ache it always got. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, willing it away. Then she heard footsteps and hurriedly ducked into the room next door. She waited until her grandmother's footsteps had passed and were far down the hall until she ventured back out. "Kyoya?" she called softly, knocking lightly with one knuckle.

"Yes, Haruhi?" he asked, sounding slightly weary as he spoke.

"I... Thank you."

"For?"

"Standing up to her..."

"She has too much power within Filandria. Thinks she can get anything and everything she wants, needs, or even thinks she needs. And besides, someone needs to do it when you aren't able to." She smiled at this. He was quiet, gazing at her with the oddest look in his eye. As if he'd just realized who she was and that she was standing in his bedroom. "What're you doing here? I told you to stay away from the palace today."

"I got Romesa to cover for me... But I need to get you there and back to your room. That was the deal."

"Fair enough," he murmured, eyes sharp behind his glasses, "However... If The Witch shows up unexpectedly, don't be alarmed if I do something that could save your life."

"I think I'd actually be grateful if you did something like that," she replied drily, chuckling a bit. His infamous smirk appeared on his face when she laughed. "Come along." She led the way out the door. They decided to take the less crowded routes to the arena, meaning alleyways and side-paths. Yes, it would be easier for The Witch to spot them, but it would also be easier to see _her _and cover up Haruhi's identity this way as well.

She was tense the entire way down. Like her grandmother might just show up at any moment. "Relax," Kyoya murmured from next to her without even sparing her a glance. He too was alert though. Not tense, exactly, but alert. She tried to do as he said, but was met face-to-face with the fact that she just couldn't. As long as he was so alert, she couldn't stop being tense.

Then, when they were walking down an alley between two buildings, almost to the end, Kyoya tensed to the same degree she was at. This was followed by him swiftly pressing her back to the wall and his mouth colliding with hers.

"Kyo- Wha-?" she mumbled, voice muffled by his lips.

"Shh," he growled, positioning himself closer to her with one arm around her waist and the other supporting her neck. Her heart wrenched and twisted till she felt like she was about to cry and then it kept going. When he closed his eyes, she felt that it was best if she copied him, her own arms snaking around his neck without her control. She didn't even notice how methodically he seemed to be moving his lips over hers because of the sharp ache in her chest. All she could really do was stand there and wait for it to come to an end.

Someone made a scoffing noise as they passed by them, but neither saw who it was. Several moments later and Kyoya withdrew slightly, breathing just as heavily as she was with his face only a few centimeters from her own. Both pairs of eyes opened slowly and stared at each other.

Haruhi was confused. And it didn't help that her heart was both aching and fluttering at the same time. "You really... Need to stop doing that," she managed to gasp out between breaths, "Going to get us both killed."

"We'd both be dead if I _didn't _do it, Haruhi," he replied, onyx eyes intensely dark as he glanced down the alleyway in the direction the person had gone. "That," he jerked his head in the direction, "was your grandmother. And because of what I did, she didn't recognize either of us."

She nodded and closed her eyes, tilting her head forward a bit to lean her forehead against his while she tried to catch her breath. "If I never have to do that again, it'll be too soon," she muttered under her breath, though he still caught it and chuckled wryly. She swallowed, pulling back from the Narian King just in time to see the form of a blonde male, retreating backward down the alley. Her eyes widened with horror when she realized who it was. "Tamaki," she breathed, "Shit..."

"What?" Kyoya asked, withdrawing from her fully.

She bit her bottom lip, mind racing. "Tamaki... Just... _Shemt!_" she swore in Moradian, "Tamaki saw us. _Shemt. Ware et ie alino sha?_" She pounded the wall behind her with her fist, letting her head fall back against it.

Her companion seemed rather amused by her reversion to her native tongue. Haruhi glared at him. "Do you have _any clue _what's going through his head right now?"

"I can guess."

"He just saw his _best friend _who he just recently found out is a _girl KISSING _the man who's supposed to be one of his mortal enemies."

"Why aren't you going after him then?"

"The Witch. Isn't that obvious?" she snapped, banging her fist against the wall again.

"I'll explain then. Just get me where you're supposed to and go home. He'll come to you."

"But-!"

"Go."

She growled under her breath with frustration and took off toward their destination once more to where Romesa was waiting for them. She followed Kyoya's order and, after thanking Romesa, hurried home with careful watchful eyes.

–

She waited in the kitchen, impatient, worried, and at one point questioning her sanity until she finally heard a knock on the door and a quietly mumbled, "Haruhi, open the door." She did so slowly, finding Kyoya and Tamaki standing there. Tamaki looked something between distraught and absolute despair.

"Why is he calling you Haruhi?"

She cut off his starting flow of questions with a look and a request, "Please let me explain before you start asking questions." Her best friend's pursed lips brought some sort of guilt to her. She glanced at Kyoya and murmured, "Where should I start?"

"I'd start with... How we became... colleagues, let's call it." The word colleague made Tamaki's eyes narrow at her to the size of pins. She could have groaned at the Narian's word choice. Now the Kiran Prince was going to think that she had betrayed him.

"Do you remember... When we were 12... And you, me, and the twins used to stage pretend wars where I was the double spy, Hikaru was the evil king, you were the heroin who saved the day with my information, and Kaoru was the evil henchman?" She paused, looking him in the eye, "It's kind of like that, except... More complicated... And it isn't a game."

Tamaki crossed his arms over his chest. "Continue."

And she did. She told him all about how she had ended up in the dungeon and convinced Kyoya not to kill her. How she had persuaded him to use her as a spy for the _Narian _cause. How she'd realized that she could start to end the war – or at least cause a decline in death. How she had become the fake lover of the Third Narian Prince so he would have a way of protecting her from his family. How she had lied to him so many times and he'd forgiven her.

And finally, she told him about how, by throwing himself on her, Kyoya had saved her life in the alley. She didn't say anything about why The Witch wanted to kill her, but she didn't need to. Tamaki accepted it.

She swallowed as she finally finished. Tamaki just stared at her. "You're..."

"On neither side," Haruhi finished.

"But... Why does he call you Haruhi?"

Kyoya decided to speak up to answer this one for her. "Because, that's the name that my family knows her by and it's also the name I've become accustomed to calling her." The brunette cast her eyes to the ground. More lies. She was telling more lies to her best friend. The man she'd known since she was eight. Then, at if giving her his forgiveness, the blonde wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"No one will _ever _get this out of me!"

She smiled, thankful that he wasn't mad at her. But when she looked in his eyes again, there seemed to be something dark and hurt lingering there. Guilt panged within her again. She had to stop lying to him or she might just drive him to insanity.

Or worse. Murder her.

–

Kyoya and Tamaki left her to return to the arena, with Tamaki promising that he'd inform her of the current positioning of the archery competition as it adjusted itself. Haruhi could only breathe a sigh of relief as she shut the door once more, only to find her father glaring at her.

"You... lied to your papa?" he asked, eyes brimming with unshed tears and glittering with the puppy dog look that made her feel so incredibly guilty on numerous occasions.

"What? No! What're you-?"

"You lied to me!" he wailed without the slightest bit of shame.

"How?" she asked, now frantic to get her father to stop crying. She hated making him cry. It made her feel so guilty. Guilty to the point that she might just do anything he asked to make her stop.

"When you were 16 you swore to me that you'd never be involved with anyone!" Her face paled. So he'd overheard that part of the conversation. "You can't be involved with anyone! You _know _why!"

She sighed and rubbed her neck. "Dad, I'm not involved with Kyoya."

"But he just said-!"

"That doesn't mean we're actually involved. It's called acting for my _protection_." She was trying to explain, but he wouldn't hear anything of it. "I told you myself that he already knew I was a girl!"

"I didn't think that meant _this_!"

She gripped him by the shoulders and made him look her in the eyes as much as he didn't want to. "Kyoya and I are _not _involved in any way romantically," she stated clearly and sharply, making sure it broke through to his conscious, "He and I fake it when we're over in Nari so that his family doesn't suspect me of treachery."

Still, her father sniffled dramatically. She sighed and threw her hand in the air, storming out of the room promptly.

–

"Namahi!" Tamaki screamed, bouncing in front of her. The games had ended for the day just minutes earlier and somehow the blonde had evaded his guards and was already bouncing up and down in her doorway. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, noticing that Kyoya was trudging a bit slower behind her best friend.

She glanced at him then back at Tamaki. They were getting along quite well and for some reason that was odd to her. The way Tamaki talked about Kyoya, she would have thought that they hated each other. And Tamaki's overactive imagination and theatrics were so tiresome sometimes that she thought it would have been annoying to him.

"What do you want now, Tamaki?"

"KAORU WON!" he yelled throwing his hands in the air and jumping even more excitedly – if that was possible.

"Big surprise there," she muttered. The younger twin was practically an archery prodigy.

"He was too much for Princess Jules!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes and retreated back into her house, leaving the door open for the two to let themselves in. "How many females participated?"

"About one for every four men," Kyoya answered, sounding disinterested, "Three of them ended up being finalists though. Muttpitt's got a pretty skilled Princess though. Heard Jules is also going for Fencing."

"Was I the only one that noticed that the Girplushin royal family grew by two since four years ago?" Haruhi frowned, counting how many people she'd seen in the royal section of the country's seating. "At least a dozen of them were sitting over there. I counted 10 last time I attended a festival."

"Jerald III was born in 982 and William four years ago. King's 50 and he's still reproducing."

"Isn't his current wife like... 38?" Tamaki questioned, looking at Kyoya. The bespectacled man nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose like he was starting to get a headache. "Ex-Queen Lina's 53...?" Another nod.

"Jerald II divorced Lina because she wasn't producing male heirs and she was getting to that age where females stop having children," Haruhi muttered from the wood stove where she was trying to light the fire so she could start dinner for her father and herself. Kyoya and Tamaki seemed to make themselves at home at her dining room table. "Dammit," she hissed as she burned herself. She scowled and snapped her fingers over the wood instead with a whispered, "_Incendia_." Her hand pulled back quickly as the fire jumped to life.

She examined her burned hand with a frown. "Just when I thought I was done with this injury thing," she grumbled just as Kyoya took her hand in his.

"_Frigus._" The burn instantly cooled a bit. She shot him a thankful smile. He merely nodded in return. Tamaki watched the entire exchange with a strange look in his eyes. Haruhi rolled her eyes at him, recognizing it as the mischievous glint that he usually got when they were at balls at the palace and he was about to try and set her up with some girl that she didn't really care about nor would if she were a male.

"Don't even think about it," she growled, pointing a kitchen knife at him threateningly before returning to her vegetable chopping. The blonde feigned complete innocence – which to him was stuttering and carrying on. "You're both welcome to stay for dinner."

Tamaki cheered but Kyoya declined with utter politeness, "Fuyumi wouldn't be pleased. Not to mention my family would wonder why I was having dinner at my _guard_'s house."

She nodded in consent and murmured, "Right. Tamaki, watch that for me will you?" she pointed at the pot of boiling water on the stove while she slipped on her army cap. She led the Narian King in the direction of his chambers while keeping her eyes open for her grandmother. Thankfully, they reached the room without incident. "Goodnight, Your Majesty. Enjoy the meal with your family." She bowed a bit mockingly and turned on her heel to retreat back to her house.

Only four days of this edgy torture left to go before she'd be able to relax for awhile again.

–

**A/N: Yes... Kasanoda and Nekozawa finally make their appearances (even if their parts are really minor). I'm... Just going to revert to calling Haruhi, Haruhi in narration parts. Just remember that she's known as Namahi by some. **

**Trying to break the Exodus Festival down into three chapters. So far... They'll looking to be very long chapters. **

**Random note: Am I the only one that feels the overwhelming urge to 'like' a chapter that I'm reading on FF. net like I would on Facebook? Even when I know that there absolutely is NO LIKE BUTTON? AM I THE ONLY ONE? **

**Tried oh so desperately to finish this before NaNoWriMo started... Obviously that was a failed attempt since this is practically twice as long as a chapter I write normally is. AND it's a freaking MONTH after NaNoWriMo... Happy New Year? **

**I got sick at the end of November... For three weeks. SO ALL I'VE BEEN DOING IS SCHOOLWORK ALL BREAK. ARGH. **

**In short, I apologize for this being so late. I've been going through the repeated stress-cycle of school, sick, catch up, school, sick again, for the entire damn year. Chronic bronchitis sucks ass. So does Monopoly (which my sister got for Christmas... Thus ANOTHER distraction.) **

**This also isn't my best chapter. As I finish writing it it's past midnight when I've only been running on a cup of coffee from this morning and six hours of sleep (my norm is 9-10). Soooo, it could be better but I really want to get it finished with. (Two months. ARGH.) **

**Thanks to everyone who looked at Guardians of Less and reviewed: Enigmaticrose4, Cactus2008, they-call-me-Squire, Mikame15, and KyouyaOotori17. You make me feel like my book could actually become a best seller if I ever finish it/it ever gets published. **

**Kudos go to: Enigmaticrose4, XxNightShroudxX, JUCHKO, Jengurl24, Yami Asakura, Mikame15, The Phantom Devil, Mrs. Ootori43ver, Person (I seriously lol'd at the anonymous name... Thanks for that.), hanna-Chan (You reviewed like... The ONE DAY that my internet was out and the email on my phone wasn't working lol...), and Koharu Veddette!**

**Some of this chapter is rambling and filler. I apologize for that as well (what else is supposed to take up that stupid space?) my brain's only half functional. And I felt that the other royal families should be semi-introduced. **

**Tamaki's calls the Chartonian King 'Uncle Gregory' because he's his mother's half-brother. But Tamaki's mother isn't legitimate Chartonian royalty because of the way she was born and a bunch of other confusing stuff. Bleh. Half-functional brain sucks right now. Just thought I'd clear that up a bit. **

**Sorry again for the wait... -cringe- You can eat me if you must. But I'd really prefer to live for a while longer... At least until I get through my junior year. **

**And... I also apologize for the PAGE LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE. YEESH! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? RAMBLE-MOUTH MUCH? (If you read all of this, I commend you greatly. Triple Kudos for you...) **


	18. 17: Instinct

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 17 - Instinct_

"I thought you said she was gone!" Haruhi hissed breathlessly as she glared at Kyoya. She'd just dive-bombed into the nearest door after seeing The Witch walking around like she owned the place.

"I thought she was," he growled back in reply, also out of breath from being dragged with her. "She must have stayed to see me compete. Damn woman."

"What am I supposed to do? I'm competing too and if she sees me I'm screwed!"

"Helmet-"

"No helmets in hand-to-hand combat. Chain-mail, yes; helmets, no."

"Cap. Wear your cap low and she may not recognize you."

"And if my cap falls off while I'm fighting, hmm?" She should have known something like this would happen eventually. 20 years of luck was just a bit too much. 20 years with only 3 people finding out her true identity and 6 about her gender. It had to run out at some point. She just really would have preferred it wouldn't be when her grandmother was around.

"It won't," Kyoya muttered. He whispered a small charm under his breath and touched her hat. "Pull it as low as you need to. It won't fall off, trust me."

She stared at him suspiciously before deciding that trusting him was better than not. She pulled the cap on, tucking her ponytail up inside it. Once her hands lowered, it tightened a bit to cling to the top of her head.

"If worst comes to worst... I'll think of something else," he said quietly, straightening her clothing and trying to make her look more like a male. "There." He clapped her on the shoulder. "Good luck, Haruhi."

–

Haruhi sighed apprehensively as she stood in the arena of cheering people. She represented one of about 15 other Northern-Kiran competitors for the hand-to-hand combat contest. Dressed in a red tunic with a bit of chain-mail underneath to show the Kiran colors. A bit of gold to state she was a northerner. One of the two knives they were allowed to use as weapons was hooked onto her belt – 6 inches – while the other hid her boot-sheath at only 2 inches.

She glanced over at Kyoya who was standing in front of Nari's seating dressed in similar clothing but different colors. He was Northern-Narian apparently, judging by the bit of gold that mixed with his dark purple. Great. If they both made it to the finals that meant that they'd definitely be paired.

Kiran competitors fought each other for the finalist spot last for every event because they were the host. So she got to sit back and wait for Pait, North and South Nari, Muttpitt, Charton, and Girplush to maintain they're own finalists. A few of them had some great techniques but went about them incorrectly. Others she was sure had only joined because of a bet.

She paid special attention to Kyoya's matches. He fought with a sort of elegance that amazed her and rarely used the same move twice in one match. At least once per match he would misstep or stumble and almost end up with a knife at his throat but he always managed to get out of it somehow.

One time in particular he lost one of his knives as he was knocked to the ground and she'd felt an odd feeling of fear fill her that almost made her shoot to her feet. It was the strangest thing she'd felt yet but she wrote it off as being worried about a friend's safety and forced herself to calm down.

Kyoya had managed to block his opponent's knife from stabbing him in the chest with his hand – she winced as the blade went straight through his palm; she'd never know how he managed not to.

In all, she watched as he beat his four opponents to take his place as Northern-Narian finalist.

He smirked at her as she waited by the gate to let her into the arena for her own matches. As he passed her, he murmured, "Good luck, Corporal," while nursing his injured hand. She nodded at him and stretched her arms to prepare herself, her nerves about her cap possibly falling off freaked her out more than anything. He'd have his hand fixed up by the time he had to fight again, she was sure.

–

Kyoya watched from the stands much the same way that Haruhi had for him. He observed her techniques while his personal healer worked on his hand. "One of your muscles tore, Your Majesty," he spoke quietly in fluent Narian.

The raven-haired man scoffed lightly under his breath. In truth, it hurt like hell. But he wasn't about to show any kind of weakness. "Just fix it the best you can, Shiro," he replied distractedly. He kept his eyes on Haruhi's form as she switched from defensive to offensive fluidly, disarming her opponent and holding her single knife to his throat.

He was slightly impressed, as the crowd obviously was judging by the cheering. Above all he could hear Tamaki screaming cheers for his best friend. But that may have been because the moron was sitting only about 10 seats away from him.

"Yessir."

Haruhi's second and third opponents, though tremendous fighters, were no match for the small female. They were defeated rather quickly, much to Kyoya's amusement. He must have been one of the only people in the entire arena that was that snickering to himself at the men Haruhi was fighting. Hardly anyone else knew that a _woman _was the one beating all these men to a pulp.

And still her cap stayed in place thanks to his magic.

At least it was until the time that Shiro managed to do something to his hand that was so incredibly painful that he completely lost control of the tiny bit of magic he was using to keep Haruhi's cap straight on her head. He gasped and shut his eyes. "Dammit!" he hissed, glaring at his healer.

Shiro squeaked and mumbled a quick sorry before killing the pain and finishing the job. Ironically, in the barely a minute that he'd lost control, Haruhi did a flip that dislodged her cap from her head. It went flying and her eyes quickly shot to where he was sitting in the stands. Kyoya glanced at The Witch quickly, noticing her eyes narrow while Haruhi scrambled for her cap again. He replaced the bit of magic as soon as Haruhi had it on her head again. The Witch still looked at her oddly for a moment before settling down.

Haruhi's opponent seemed to find it odd that she was more worried about her cap falling off than the fact that he had a knife and was coming after her but used the distraction to his advantage.

Kyoya wasn't exactly sure how Haruhi managed to dodge the series of attacks that followed as she got her cap, but she did it. With only one knife too.

_And _the woman turned around the man's attacks on him until she had him on the ground at knife-point. He gave in and Haruhi won, announced as the Northern-Kiran finalist. He almost smirked as he got the feeling that this competition was about to get very interesting.

–

A late lunch was taken with Haruhi avoiding Kyoya's seating as much as possible because of The Witch's close proximity to him. She went home for lunch, recruiting the twins' mother to heal the few gashes that she'd gotten from fighting. "I don't know why you signed up for this, Haruhi," the older woman tsked softly as she treated her. "If you weren't your mother's daughter then those men probably would have torn you apart."

Haruhi smiled softly. Her peaceful lunch was soon interrupted by the arrival of the Narian King though, who seemed to have finished eating especially early. She suppressed a groan as he walked through her front door.

"Saved you again, it seems," Kyoya muttered, looking around the small kitchen with a smirk.

"I thought I was screwed when my hat fell off. Why'd that happen anyway?"

"Shiro and Nekozawa were healing my hand. While mending a torn muscle the pain disrupted my magic flow, ironically right when you were doing that little flip of yours."

"She suspect anything?"

"Perhaps... She narrowed her eyes when your cap fell off. But she seemed relaxed enough once it was back on."

"How's your hand by the way?"

Yuzuha watched with amusement as the conversation passed back and forth between the two, automatically picking up on their friendship but staying silent.

"Could be better," Kyoya murmured with a frown as he held it out to her to check. "Still quite painful, but it'll have to do." Haruhi frowned as she took his hand in both of hers, turning it to look at it from every direction. She could tell where the muscle had been torn, if only a tiny tear. She traced her fingers over it lightly then over to inch long cut that was all that remained from the previous wound.

Subconsciously, her magic seemed to flow from her fingers across the surface of his skin even without the use of verbal incantations. Kyoya just watched as the skin around his cut tightened and closed together more as her fingers continued to move across it. "You certainly do have a gift, Haruhi," he finally murmured as the cut dispersed into nothing more than a pink scar.

His voice broke her trance. She blinked a few times and mumbled, "I didn't even... Damn. I didn't even mean to do that... I was just thinking about how much it must've hurt to have a knife go through the palm of your hand..."

Kyoya smirked. "That's the gift of a witch, Haruhi. It's useful... But it can be incredibly dangerous too, having that kind of instinctual magic."

She nodded, understanding that he would know all about that subject. "It's both a blessing and a curse," she mumbled.

"Haruhi," Yuzuha murmured from her seat behind the brunette, "You and King Kyoya should be heading back to the arena. It's almost time for lunch to end." The two young adults nodded at her and left. Yuzuha smiled a bit. Perhaps her Princess had finally found what she needed.

–

By some sadistic god's will, the two of them somehow found themselves not fighting each other, but other people all the way up to the point that they both got the positions of the finalists of all Filandria.

Kyoya seemed entirely too confident about his abilities and for some reason she wasn't sure if that made her apprehensive or irked. She knew he'd be a formidable opponent, but the way that he just _stared _at her with that confident smirk on his face both chilled her to the bone and urged to to prove that godforsaken look wrong.

She bowed and positioned herself in a proper fighting stance as he did the same. He held two six-inch blades while she settled for the one six-inch one she'd been fighting with. "GO NAMAHI!" Haruhi gritted her teeth against the cheers from her idiotic friends that were coming from the stands, choosing to ignore them as she kept her eyes on Kyoya until the flag went down.

Neither of them moved for several moments trying to assess the others' first move. Then, Kyoya decided to take the initiative and strike. She grunted as she blocked his right-handed swipe with her own blade while simultaneously stopping his left-handed downward jab with her heavily metal-and-leather armored forearm. The shock from the downward blow rattled her arm but she gritted her teeth and dealt with it.

"How do you think this will end?" Kyoya asked her while he held the position, attempting to overpower her.

She held firm and huffed back, "You as the loser."

"I highly doubt that." He withdrew slightly to swipe at her head with one of his knives. She ducked low and stepped out of the way of his other weapon. Her fist soon drove toward his gut only to be blocked by his open hand. She stared at him incredulously for a moment then looked up and realized that he had tossed the other knife _into the air _and that it was now heading back to the ground. "Excuse me while I catch that."

She scoffed as he withdrew and dodged the fist that flew at his face to catch the spinning blade perfectly in his right hand. "Show off... Though I suppose you're only getting started?"

"That would be correct."

If someone had told her a week and a half ago that she would be dancing with the Narian King she would have snorted and called them a moron. However, as the two's series of kicks, punches, and stabs became a dance of will, coordination, and strength, she started to realize that maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea. She had held a blade to his neck twice before already. As he had threatened her with one previously.

The first blow that either of them managed to land was a hard one. Somehow, Kyoya in his flurry of offensive attacks had managed to get through her defense and whack her hard enough in the shoulder to dislocate it.

Her knife dropped almost instantaneously to the ground, her other hand flying to her shoulder as she dodged his next bit of attacks. "Time!" she bit out, face twisting up in pain. Kyoya eased up and graciously allowed it. She glared at him as Yuzuha flitted out toward her. "I think it's dislocated."

The twins' mother nodded and carefully placed her hands on the younger girl's shoulder. "This will hurt." Haruhi nodded and bit her lip, indicating that she was ready. Seconds later her shoulder gave a sickening click as it fell back into place. She didn't allow anything more than a soft cry leave her mouth as she tested her shoulder. Yuzuha approved for her to continue fighting and Haruhi faced Kyoya once more.

His eyes glinted in amusement as the flag went down again. This time Haruhi wasted no time in lunging forward, knowing that once he got the offensive it would be hard to get it back. She liked having a free hand because it was now incredibly useful as she tried to outmaneuver her opponent. She was careful never to let his blade cut her though as she assessed how he would block every single one of her blows.

A pattern started to form so she changed hers to throw him off. He took the change in stride but fumbled in a way that gave her the advantage. One her hands knocked one of his hands from below and flipped the knife into the air. It was caught by the brunette. He swore a bit under his breath as she continued straight into another attack.

"You're a pretty good fighter, for a woman," he grunted quietly as he dodged his own knife.

She scoffed breathlessly. "Do you think I'd join the army if I couldn't?" Finally, she saw an opening and swung her right leg up. It connected with his gut much to her satisfaction. "You should have learned by now that I'm not going to go easy on you, regardless of your _royal _status."

"I wasn't expecting it," he growled, trying to get his breath back as he doubled over. She calmly held her knife to his throat, earning her a glare from him.

"Give up?"

"In your dreams." Before she could react he had twisted away from her weapon and out of reach. She allowed a small gasp of surprise leave her mouth as their positions switched, him behind her, an arm around chest and knife at her throat. "As you can see, I don't take kindly to losing," he rasped in her ear. Her breath hitched without her control. "Give up?"

She growled under her breath with frustration, hearing Tamaki and the twins screaming from their seats with cheers for her not to give up. She wasn't done quite yet. "You really are a bastard," she muttered, steeling her legs as she dropped the blades in her hands, grabbed both his wrists and swiftly flipped him over her head and to the ground. She squatted quickly and withdrew the 2-inch knife from her boot-sheath.

As she descended on him, he saw her coming and instinctively held the knife that hadn't fallen from his grip upward. A choking noise came from Haruhi's mouth as the blade drove into her chest. Kyoya's eyes widened in the slightest as Tamaki screamed, "NAMAHI!" The blonde fought to get onto the field but was held back by both red-headed twins.

Haruhi, for one, was in slight shock and just stared at him wide-eyed, finding it hard to breathe. She followed through with her previous plan though and held the small knife to his throat. Blood dribbled from the wound in her chest, down the hilt of his knife and onto his dark purple tunic. His eyes met hers. "Haruhi," he whispered.

"Give up," she choked out in reply.

"Draw?" he offered, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he took note of her ragged breathing. If she didn't get medical attention soon she could die. Her stubbornness held as she shook her head, eyes unfocused slightly. "Haruhi, you need medical attention." She glared at him. "Draw."

Her eyes blinked rapidly. She felt faint and his entire face was fuzzy and unfocused to her. "Haruhi, call it a draw." She could hardly keep her arms straight to hold her up so she nodded and dropped her knife next to his head. Her arms collapsed shortly after.

"DRAW!" Kyoya yelled quickly as he eased her up off of him and to the ground beside him. Her eyes fluttered shut as Yuzuha and Ranka ran out, the feminine male in disguise. Kyoya shook his head a bit at himself in anger as he tugged the knife out of her chest.

"Oh _Gorsa_," her pale-faced father whispered as he knelt beside her, "_Sha litra gipsi._" Yuzuha merely frowned and started working quickly. Kyoya felt slightly numb, knowing that he'd done this to her, regardless of it being instinct.

"It didn't pierce her heart," Yuzuha murmured distractedly, mostly to console Ranka but her eyes raised to meet his as she said it. "Means she'll probably pull through." Kyoya glanced down at the brunette's face and had no doubts about that. Haruhi was a strong woman, despite how delicate her body looked.

–

Haruhi healed surprisingly quickly. The very next day she woke, her chest sore, but mostly healed. The twins were right next to her bedside, as she expected but was quite angered at. Hikaru jumped to his feet when he saw her stirring. "Haruhi!"

She groaned. Her ears felt like they were about to bleed. "Shouldn't you be watching the Narian royal family?" she growled, glaring at them.

"We got others to cover. You were more important."

She huffed under her breath and said, "No. No I'm not."

"Yes," Hikaru insisted. Kaoru followed with, "You are." Haruhi scowled at the two of them, sitting up with a bit of difficulty. "I would have thought Tamaki would be here too."

"He's competing," they both chimed at once, "And he dubbed it our duty to look after you." This made her scowl deepen quite a bit. Tamaki was ordering _her _underlings away from the duties that she'd assigned them.

"What competition?" She thought that she had slept through the rest of it. "Wait... What day is it?"

They both smirked at her. "Fencing. He and Hunny are about to be finalists."

Haruhi didn't quite understand until it registered that the fencing tournament was the day after the hand-to-hand combat one. "I... I was only asleep for a day?" They nodded. "And my wound's already healed this much?"

"You're Witch powers are growing, Haruhi." Her eyes shot to the doorway where a suave dark-haired Narian King leaned against the frame. His eyes bore into hers but they were guarded. He seemed hesitant to enter the room. "How's your chest?"

"Fine," she said nonchalantly. Just to prove her point she tugged the front of her shirt down enough to reveal the top of the pink scar that was all that was left. He pursed his lips into a thin line of obvious displeasure. "It's not too bad. It's pretty tough to kill me."

"I noticed," he muttered.

She narrowed her eyes at him while Hikaru shot a glare at the King. "Are you saying you tried to kill her?" the older twin growled.

"Never," Kyoya retorted, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "She's just been injured so many times that it's amazing one of them hasn't killed her yet. Suppose it's because she's half-Witch though." Haruhi observed the ridged set of his muscles silently as he fell quiet again. He wasn't looking at her face, she noted, but the wall next to it.

"Hikaru, Kaoru," she murmured quietly, "I'd like a word with him. Alone." Hikaru looked like he wanted to object but Kaoru rolled his eyes and pulled his older brother out the door before he got the chance to. "It's not your fault," she said as soon as the door was closed completely.

"I never said it was," he retorted with a snort, still avoiding her eyes.

"No. Come here, look me in the eyes, and tell me that you don't believe it's your fault right now." He looked at her like she was crazy but she was insistent, so he complied. In three short strides he was seated on the edge of her bed, his eyes connecting with hers for the first time since he'd entered the room.

"It's not my fault," he stated, his voice sounding very convincing but his eyes giving away the flicker of guilt that he felt.

"You don't believe that. You think it _is _your fault. Even if it is only partially." She tilted her head at him sympathetically. "It's not. I'm fine. I'm completely healed. As a matter of fact, I'm going to get back into my uniform and go watch Tamaki and Hunny compete."

"No you're not." His face fell into the slightest expression of dread and worry in an instant.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm ordering you not to go back on duty." His voice steeled his confidence in his decision but also told how much he was truly worried about her safety.

She smiled slightly at his concern and said with a soft laugh, "Kyoya. You have no authority over me here. If I were in Nari it would be another matter entirely, but here you can't order me to do anything. I'm sorry."

"Tamaki will agree with me."

"There's no reason for me not to go back on duty. Unless of course, The Witch is still here?"

He paused for a moment. "She's... around. But she's not watching the games." This made her scowl. "You see Haruhi, I'm not ordering you around just for the sake of it or because of your injury. It's because she _will _kill you if she finds you. On spot, is my guess."

"I'm aware," she said slowly. A sigh fell from her lips carefully, a hand running through her hair. "Fine. I'll stay here. Won't even bother getting dressed if it so pleases you."

He smirked a bit and leaned forward, his face inches from her. "I'll be back after dinner."

–

True to his word, Kyoya returned after he had eaten. "How's Tamaki doing?" she asked immediately, knowing that the blonde would be pleased she asked.

"Finalist."

She cheered inwardly as she asked her second question, "And Hunny?"

"Barely lost to Tamaki for finalist. Both of them are very good fencers. Just like you're a good fighter."

Her heart beat skipped a bit at the compliment. Her mind questioned it for a moment before she shoved it ferociously to the back of her mind. "I see. Who's the other finalist?"

"Gregor Williamington-Quande. Previously illegitimate son of Girplush's King. Tamaki may have his work cut out for him trying to win." Kyoya stared at her. "Either way, I don't think I'll go to the match."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I've never been particularly interested in fencing. And... I rather stay here and talk with you." Haruhi's heart tugged but it wasn't necessarily an unpleasant tug. She gazed at him for a moment, wondering if he really meant it. "Yes, Haruhi. I really do mean it. Or would you prefer to watch the match?"

She snorted a bit. "Perhaps I would. Watching Tamaki fence is a thing of beauty. Almost just as much as listening to him play piano." She looked away from his face. "When we were younger, I'd watch him and once I tried sparring with him. I still can't beat him."

"You care about him."

"Like a brother," she confirmed.

"You've known him for years and you've never thought of him as anything more?"

Her eyes shot to his. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Nothing. Just a simple question."

"I've never thought of him as anything more. I've never thought of anyone like that. And you know perfectly well why. So why are you asking that question?"

"Curiosity. That's all." He stepped a bit closer to her to which Haruhi eyed him apprehensively.

"Why on earth would you be curious about my love life?"

He shrugged and muttered, "Maybe I was taking precautions. Making sure that you aren't involved over here before I take you to the closing ball."

"You've got to be joking..." He shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "Do you know what will happen if I attend the closing ball as a female?"

"Only if you're not in disguise. I have the hunch that you'd look beautiful with longer hair and a ball gown."

"What merit is there to taking me? Even in disguise?"

"Do I need one?" She began to open her mouth but before anything came out he moved forward swiftly and pressed his lips to hers. Her heart yanked but she instinctively kissed him back. He pulled away slowly and murmured, "You said you were never interested in anyone like that. Just say yes, Haruhi."

The emotions that he was forcing her to face at that moment were so incredibly unwelcome that she turned away from him. She didn't want to think about it. Hell, she didn't even want to think of the possibility. "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep doing that."

"You kissed back," he accused softly.

"I don't enjoy you forcing me to confront feelings that might not even exist, Kyoya." Her voice was fiercer than normal, he noted with the slightly bit of amusement. "It was instinct," she defended.

"Whatever you say, Haruhi," he murmured, "I'm still set on taking you to the ball though."

"You can't take no for an answer can you?" she growled. Her hand curled into a loose fist at her side while her heart constricted a bit.

"Just trust me. No one will know who you are. You deserve something like this for once instead of having to act like something you're not."

"You're positive that my grandmother won't be there? And that no one will recognize me?"

"Absolutely. The Witch left about an hour ago and no one will recognize my lover besides my family." She choked up a moment. She had a hunch that he'd planned for her to be introduced as his lover the entire time. "I did plan this but I wasn't sure that you'd go for it. Which is why I'm asking you now to accompany me to the Exodus Festival's closing ball and banquet."

She sighed and looked at him, thoughts whirring around in her head. "I can't believe I'm saying this," she mumbled with a soft laugh, "But yes." Just like always, somehow he'd used his powers of persuasion to convince her to go with him.

–

**A/N: My skills at writing fight scenes still suck quite a bit. Blargh. I'm not happy with this. And I considered rewriting the entire thing a few days ago. But I'm too lazy and tired to care at the moment. Plus it would take _so much time_. And I've already held this from you since... last year? (Haha... I'm so funny. I updated on December 30, 2010.) Thus, guilt made me post this... semi-OOC, semi-crappy, thinger-ma-jig. -cringe-**

**I'm teaching myself to play piano... Since we got a brand new one. (It's so much fun. Whee. I'm already better than my sister when she's the one that had actual lessons.) I watched all of Torchwood in the course of a week (and I'm very upset about it too. If you've watched the series I'm sure you can understand why) I... procrastinated on homework to dastardly levels. Blahblahblah. **

**Kudos to: Enigmaticrose4, Nessie-san, just a reviewer, twilightrewriter, Cactus2008, The Phantom Devil, nightworldluvr4ever, YukiruandPercabeth, Mrs. Ootori43ver, XxNightShroudxX, michiiyu, hanna-Chan, JUCHKO, and Magpie09. **

**PS: Anyone who reads Rule 51 should know that it's going on hiatus till summer. I can barely afford to update this one once every two months. If you checked my profile you would have noticed this already.**


	19. 18: Signing Omens

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 18 – Signing Omens_

An odd feeling filled her as she closed the door behind the raven-haired man that she'd come to call a close friend. In all her life she had never once acted or dressed like a female while residing in Kira. Not until she had met Kyoya Ohtori. And if she thought really hard about it, a lot of her stress had actually started after she had met him as well.

He had to be planning something. Something more than introducing her to the public.

That was the only reason she could possibly think of that would explain his sudden proposal for her to go with him to the ball as well as his inquiry about her feelings. She touched her lips with her fingertips gently. Admittedly, that kiss had been a bit different than the others. Normally, she just submitted to them and waited for him to cut it off, but this one she had actually felt the need to push back. For that one, something inside of her had just told her to_kiss him_.

That was another thing that had only started after she had met him. She couldn't remember ever having lip-locked before she had encountered the Narian royal.

He had really turned her whole life upside down just by appearing in it.

She shut her eyes and leaned against the door, pushing back the ache in her chest that had been appearing more and more lately when he wasn't there. "_You said you were never interested in anyone like that." _She cringed slightly as his words floated back into her head. No. There was no way that she was even the slightest bit_infatuated _with him. It was impossible. Utterly impossible.

Yet, as she opened her eyes and hurried toward the back room to answer her father's call, she couldn't help thinking that maybe she wasn't as in control of her emotions as she thought she was.

–

"Where's Prince Yuiichi?" Haruhi asked the next morning, looking around for the missing Narian royal. She knew Hikaru would be gone. He was competing after all. None of her subordinates knew exactly where the eldest Ohtori child was though.

She sighed, about ready to wring someone's neck until Kyoya murmured, "Calm yourself, Corporal. He's competing. And instinct tells me he'll win." She glared at him. He was teasing her. It was very subtle teasing but it was teasing none-the-less. She had half the mind to smack him but restrained herself. Akito looked between the glaring Corporal and his brother with a bit of suspicion.

"I heard that Father woke up last night," he said quietly, gauging both of their reactions. Kyoya's eyes shot up to his and narrowed while the Corporal's shifted with strained ease from his brother's to his own. He smirked inwardly.

"Don't joke around, Akito," Kyoya muttered in a low voice, anger spiking in his eyes. "I would have been informed if he had." He spared a glance at Haruhi again.

The second Narian Prince paused a moment then chuckled darkly. "I apologize, Little Brother. I couldn't resist. You looked like you needed a bit of relief."

"No relief would come from Father," Kyoya growled shortly. He turned his back on his elder brother just as attention was called to center-arena to start the Magic Combat competition. Akito merely cast a glance at Haruhi and his younger brother one more time with a smirk, his thoughts whirring slightly. Something was going on between the Kiran Corporal and Narian King, and he was going to find out what it was.

–

Before anyone really knew it, the finals were upon them and, once more, Tamaki was having dinner with the Narian royal family and Haruhi. She sat next to Kyoya, much to her best friend's disappointment. She kept glancing at him subtly, trying to figure out what the hell he could be planning for tomorrow night. It wasn't at all unlike him to hide something from her until the last moment. But she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was this time.

And she had a feeling that she would really want to know what was coming this time too.

"Do you find something interesting on my face, Corporal? Or do you just think that staring at me needlessly is going to help you do your job any better?" She jumped at the sound of his voice. He wasn't even looking at her, just gazing at his plate as he cut a bit of his meat. She shook her head quickly and returned her gaze to her own plate.

"I apologize if I offended you, Your Majesty," she muttered, "I was merely spacing."

"So I can see," he replied coolly. She winced at his tone, expecting something more but got nothing. In fact, it wasn't much later that he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and stood, startling her. She moved to follow him as did one of his two guards but he waved them off and murmured, "I'll be fine on my own. No need to leave your meals unfinished."

Haruhi looked at the other man he'd been addressing, the red head. His eyes met hers and narrowed. "_Betwh eo vyo otwa uhwi rym Ogki?_" he asked coldly.

She translated silently in her head then opened her mouth and started in Kiran, "I won't-" she cut herself off when she remembered that this man didn't speak her second language and restarted again in Narian. "_J onwo smha nhi. Otdo srywo._" It still seemed like Kasanoda didn't believe her until Kyoya just nodded at him. He seated himself hesitantly once more as she turned to the Narian King, "I'm finished anyway."

"Who will look after the Prince?" he asked her, amusement flickering in his eyes as they darted toward Tamaki and back to her.

"Private Hikaru can," she replied promptly, noticing one of the servants in the room scuttling away to find the red-headed Moradian almost immediately.

"Then I have no objections." He turned on his heel and left the room with her trailing after him. Akito looked at Yuiichi, sending him a silent message, _'There's something off here.' _His older brother merely shrugged apathetically and continued eating.

–

The minute that they were out of sight and hearing range of the dining room, Kyoya turned to her sharply. "No more of that," he said quietly. She shot him a quizzical look. "I think Akito suspects something. And if he figures it out it won't be so easy to convince him to keep it to himself."

"But you could still do it."

"I can't hide every single thing, Haruhi," he grunted, running a hand down the lower half of his face. He seemed stressed to her. More stressed than usual. "Just do me a favor and don't do something like that again. It has to appear that our relationship is strictly business and that we didn't know each other at all before I came here."

"It _is _strictly business," she injected sharply.

He shook his head quickly. "Not to Akito. To him it seems like it's more intimate than that. I don't want him finding out that you're female, let alone that you're the same woman I've supposedly been sleeping with for that past three months."

"How do you know that he knows?" she asked, lowering her voice as she heard the creak of a pair of wooden wheels coming from farther down the hall.

"The look in his eye says it all," he breathed, turning and marching back down the hall with her on his heels just as Akito came into view in his wheelchair. She glanced back at the elder Ohtori's narrowed eyes briefly then looked forward again.

–

They reached his bedroom fast and without Akito following them any further. "I assume you have a plan for tomorrow already?" she mumbled, looking around the room like someone might be hiding under the bed or behind the curtains listening in.

"Of course," he replied swiftly. "The Corporal will have fallen ill. You will arrive as Haruhi tomorrow morning and be escorted to my room by Nekozawa."

"How early?" she interrupted quickly, knowing he wouldn't like it if it was too early.

"Doesn't matter. It could still be dark for all I care. The point is that you will arrive in a wig and dress that I'll provide later tonight. After that there will be no more of Corporal Namahi until after we leave the next morning. It's imperative that _everyone _is convinced that you as Namahi is ill and no one, not even Tamaki, visits you."

Haruhi nodded in understanding. "What if..." she cut herself off quickly, thinking over her words before turning her eyes to his and continuing quietly, "What if it doesn't go the way you think it will? What if Akito figures it out?"

Kyoya's glasses glinted dangerously at the mention of his plan possibly failing. "It will," he stated with conviction, "And there's no way that he'll find out as long as you stick to the plan."

"I will. I promise," she muttered, the slightest bit of doubt still flickering in her mind no matter how much she trusted him.

–

"Namahi, are you ok?" Tamaki asked her quietly later that night, right after Yuiichi had lost to the Chartonian finalist for champion of all Filandria. She was trying to hint that she was sick just as Kyoya had told her too. A fake coughing fit and an actual headache later, Tamaki was finally starting to catch on to what all of Kyoya's family already had.

"Hope you're not becoming sick, Corporal," Kyoya muttered, his voice riddled with a kind of indifference that only he could master. "Of course," he added softly, "It would beneficial to myself if you were to." The blonde Kiran Prince shot a glare at the Narian, who merely smirked in response, like he enjoyed rattling Tamaki's cage a bit.

Haruhi, however, wasn't the slightest bit amused either. And expressed her displeasure with his statement with a glare of her own. "I think I'm coming down with something," she grunted, "Might take a sick day tomorrow."

"Is it because you've been outside in the cold too much?" Tamaki reprimanded with a stern look that did nothing but make him look like a child pretending to be the parent.

She sighed exasperatedly. "You _know _that's a myth."

"But it still happens. I wonder why..." She was glaring at the blonde now much to Kyoya's amusement as well as that of Akito's. Haruhi sneezed, this time not a fake one. "See!" Tamaki exclaimed triumphantly. She rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hand.

"I'm going home as soon as possible," she muttered, holding her head a bit as she rubbed her temples.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Tamaki asked with the same charming politeness that he always used. Haruhi almost smacked herself. _Charming_? Tamaki was charming yes, but not to her. Never to her. And he rarely ever asked if he should walk her home. Her heart yanked.

"No," she stated bluntly with a small strained smile. "I'll be perfectly fine, Tamaki. You know that." She saw Kyoya very subtly looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Like he could tell what exactly was happening.

"But what if you pass out on your way home?"

She clenched her teeth. "I'll. Be. Fine," she gritted out quickly then turned to Kyoya, "Are you ready to retire Your Majesty?"

"Just about, yes," he replied quietly, looking over at a strangely quiet Yuki only to find that she'd fallen asleep. He chuckled softly under his breath and stood from his seat, carefully slipping his arms under his niece and lifting her out of her own chair. The 5-year-old grumbled in her sleep before pushing her face into her uncle's chest. _'Oddly like Kyoya... Interesting,' _Haruhi mused to herself.

–

Kyoya grabbed a sack from his room before heading to his eldest brother's next door. After setting Yuki down in her bed, he tossed it at her. The little girl grumbled again and her eyes opened just a slit. "Uncle Kyo?"

"Shh," Kyoya whispered with a small smile, "Go back to sleep Yuki." Haruhi watched speechless as he smoothed the hair back from his niece's forehead and leaned down to press his lips to her exposed temple. "I'll be here when you wake up. And I think Auntie Haru will be too." He passed a small glance in the slightly shocked brunette's direction.

"Hnnnnnng," Yuki mumbled, half-asleep, half-delirious with sleep, "Uncle Kyo?"

"Hmm?" he hummed in reply, continuously stroking the 5-year-old's hair.

"I miss Mommy."

"I know you do." A sad smile came to his face as he knelt there next to his niece's bed. "I know, Yuki."

"When's Grandpa going to be better?"

"I don't know, sweetie."

"I hope... he's better... soon."

"Me too," Kyoya breathed, watching her until she fell asleep again moments later. Haruhi stood stock still behind him, once again feeling remorse for not telling him about the assassination attempt on his family sooner than she had. Mayuri would possibly still be alive if she had. When Kyoya pushed himself up off the floor and turned to her, he was as composed as always. "Because of this damn war, that little girl is hurting," he murmured in a low deadly tone, as if it was the first time he was actually realizing it, "I will do whatever it takes to end it."

"So will I," Haruhi said softly, gazing at him sympathetically. She understood completely, of course. Everything she had done so far was an attempt to try to lessen the death toll, but what if she got Kyoya to work with her to actually _end _it?

Now that... That could actually work.

–

She had the dream again that night. The Witching Dream that had been haunting her conscious since she'd first had it while she was sick. Only it was different this time. There were snips and pieces of things. Nothing was moving. A much different kind of Witching Dream than the kind she was used to.

_Kyoya and her – standing face to face, close enough to touch each other. A ring – diamond encrusted silver, amethyst center. A dress – lavender in color, nearly floor length. Dancing – spinning circles, hundreds of couples. A scream._

_Akito – empathetic for once instead of indifferent._

_Tamaki – incredibly angry and so unlike his normal persona._

_A knife and a little girl's throat. Laughter – horrible cackling laughter. A noose in a dungeon. The Narian flag blowing in the wind as it burned..._

She jerked awake, gasping for air like she had been underwater for a century. She shook her head quickly, trying to clear the fog enough to try to make sense of it. She blinked rapidly and fumbled for the matches by her bedside table, striking one and lighting the candle next to her bed quickly.

She was shivering, a cold sweat pouring down her face. She shook her head again, the images repeating themselves in her brain. She had to write this down or she'd never make sense of any of it. She grabbed the candle by the base and carried it to the living room where a scrap piece of parchment was on the desk in the corner with a quill.

Haruhi tried drawing pictures for some of them but ended up just writing captions underneath them anyway. A shiver ran down her spine when she completed the last set of pictures with the little girl with a knife at her throat and the burning Narian flag. She stared at them.

She was almost positive that the first seven were completely separate from the last four. They didn't fit together, though the middle two could be anywhere. She shuffled over to the sack Kyoya had given her that was lying on a chair close by and hurriedly opened it. A dress. Blue. She sighed with relief. So it wasn't going to take place at the ball.

"Haruhi?" her father's groggy voice called from the doorway, "What're you doing up? It's hardly even dawn yet." She quickly closed the sack and snatched up the paper, not wanting to worry Ranka.

"I couldn't sleep," she lied quietly, hoping he wouldn't notice that her nightwear was still plastered to her skin from the sweat that had coated it only minutes earlier.

"Bad dreams?" he guessed, eying her oddly. It was like he could just _sense _her troubles. She swore in her head and cursed that he was the person she was closest to. Of course he would be able to tell.

"No, no," she mumbled, "I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"_Buwoshybrar_," he muttered, "Tell Daddy the truth!" She held back a small gasp of surprise at the swear that fell from her father's mouth. That in itself was a rare occasion.

"Alright, alright," she grumbled reluctantly, "It was a bad dream. But it was an odd one." She glanced behind her out a window, wondering briefly if it was too early to go up to Kyoya's room. The sun was just barely starting to rise. If it took as long as she thought it was going to for her to get the wig on, then by the time she was changed she could leave.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "It was probably nothing," she murmured, edging back toward her bedroom, sack in hand. "Just a bunch of random pictures. Not connected in any way but enough to wake me up." Ranka eyed her suspiciously but let her hurry off to her room without further questioning. "Go back to sleep, Dad!" she called over her shoulder right before her bedroom door shut. The red-head grumbled under his breath and trudged back toward his own bedroom, thinking more sleep was probably just what he needed.

–

The sun was just barely over the hills in the east when she finally left her home with a cloak on over the dress she was wearing. She looked up and down the street to make sure that no one was watching as she left. She may have been wearing a wig as a disguise but she still felt insecure about being seen.

By the time she reached the front gates, her nerves were so on edge that she was starting to wonder if she had made a mistake by accepting Kyoya's invitation (demand) to go with him to the ball – disguise or not.

At the front gates to the palace she was stopped by Romesa – which did absolutely nothing to quell her anxiety of being caught. "Who're ye and what're ye doing out so early Miss?" he asked kindly with a small smile.

"Ah," she mumbled, stumbling over her words in an effort to be formal and polite despite knowing the man for her entire life, "My name's Haruhi Fari. I'm here to see Kyo- _King _Kyoya Ohtori of Nari. I'm to be his companion to the Festival's closing ball tonight."

"Ah, yes. Miss Fari. We were expecting ye, though not so early, and certainly not on foot."

"I had the carriage drop me at the edge of the city so it would not wake anyone still sleeping while passing through."

"Thoughtful of ye, Miss Fari. I suppose I'll escort ye up."

"Thank you, sir." He turned and led her through the gates silently, nodding at one of the other guards inside to take his place momentarily. She followed him with only slight hesitation. Her father had been sound asleep when she left and she hoped that when he woke he'd just assume that she'd gone on duty.

"I've 'eard that King Ohtori 'as a bit of a temperament that makes 'im quite unpleasant in the morning," Romesa stated to her quietly in an attempt at small talk. She nodded, smiling a bit in amusement.

"He does. Nothing I can't handle though. I've been putting up with him for three months already, I'll be damned if I can't deal with his morning temper."

The corner of the guard's lip lifted a bit at this but he said nothing since they were entering an occupied wing of the palace. The rest of the walk was spent in silence until Romesa whispered a few words to Nekozawa at Kyoya's door, gave her a smile, and walked away again to return to his post. The slightly creepy guard opened the door and readied himself to wake up his King. She touched his shoulder and shook her head, whispering, "It's alright. I'll be fine. No need to wake him."

He backed out graciously, closing the door behind him. She glanced at the lump on the bed that was steadily breathing, rolling her eyes a bit as she strode over to the balcony doors quietly. With one quick movement she opened them and slid through, shutting them behind behind her with as little noise as she could manage. She slipped the piece of parchment out of the small pocket in the front of her skirt that was barely visible, forcing herself to unfold it and look over the reminders of her dream again.

She had to make sense of this if she was going to prevent it from happening. She had been staring at the paper for at least a good 10 minutes when the doors behind her opened. She jumped at the sound, turning quickly only to find a very miffed looking Kyoya standing in the doorway. "What the _hell _are you doing here so early?"

"Couldn't sleep," she muttered, turning her scrutinizing gaze back to the puzzle in her hands.

"So you decided to come disrupt mine instead?"

"I tried not to wake you," Haruhi murmured, glancing at him apologetically.

"Hell of a lot of good that did," he grumbled, turning back toward the room he was staying in.

She sighed and muttered, "Excuse me then." She followed him back through the doors into the bedroom, where he was already stumbling back towards the bed. She went back to staring at the paper as soon as she found a comfortable spot on the bed that gave her a decent amount of dim light.

"What're you working on?" he asked quietly, looking irritated even though he was obviously curious.

"Nothing of your concern," she replied just as softly, "Go back to sleep. I promise I won't disturb you further."

"Haruhi. What is it?"

Another sigh fell from her lips, this one more exasperated than anything. "I'm scared," she said plainly. "I had a Witching Dream and I'm just... I'm scared." She choked up a bit at the end of her sentence, actually feeling the full force of her fright in her throat now.

He sighed and grumbled about definitely not being able to get more sleep now. "Tell me," he finally spoke to her quietly. She silently handed him the page while leaning over to light a candle and hand him his glasses.

"They're just... images. But they're so foreboding. Especially at the end." She felt a shiver run down her spine, her hands shaking. She really was scared out of her wits of this. "I really hate being a Witch sometimes."

Kyoya merely regarded the pictures and words she'd drawn out earlier that morning, the frown on his face growing deeper the further down the page he got. "Who is this?" he asked, pointing at the little girl and the knife while looking her straight in the eyes.

"I... don't know."

"What little girls do you know?"

Haruhi covered her mouth with her hand quickly. "Yuki," she whispered. He nodded, shutting his eyes as if she'd just confirmed his own fears. "Who's the noose supposed to be intended for then?"

"I have no clue," he replied softly, returning his eyes to the paper. "Could be anyone. The twins, you, _me_. It could really... be anyone." Haruhi swallowed back the lump of uncontrollable fear that was building there.

"What's the first part about?" she mumbled. He had to know something if he was part of the dream. He had to have some kind of idea even if it was vague. He shook his head. "I _know _that you know something about it. The Witching Dreams I've been having since I came home always had something to do with you. You _have _to know something."

"You've had others?"

She nodded, looking away from him as images from those nightmares flooded into her mind. "You always end up dead by my hand in them. I... I don't like it. But don't change the subject. What do you know about this?"

"It's nothing," he grunted, handing the paper back to him. "There isn't anything within that part of your dream that I'm aware will cause anyone harm in any manner. Don't worry."

"Kyoya. You have to tell me. If it has anything to do with someone _dying _then I want to be able to prevent it."

"No one will end up dying. Don't be melodramatic."

"It's not melodrama if it's true! I don't remember the last time that one of my Witching Dreams ended with someone _not _dead." She grew silent when his eyes narrowed into a slight glare in her direction. "Just... promise me you won't do anything rash," she mumbled finally.

He stared at her, eyes unobstructed by his regular glasses and murmured, "Promise." He just barely suppressed a sigh as he looked at her, practically feeling the anxiety coming off her in waves. "Haruhi, don't worry too much. Try to sleep." She huffed and grumbled under her breath but he merely chuckled softly and turned over. He shut his eyes, completely intent on going to sleep until he felt her curl up against his back. He allowed himself to smile a bit as he drifted off.

–

Haruhi's first sign that things weren't going to go quite the way she wanted them to at the ball was when Akito paid her a _'visit' _while Kyoya was out. "_Utleli Uherbro_?" Akito called through the mahogany door, lightly knocking with his knuckles.

Haruhi swallowed back the lump in her throat as she walked to the door and answered hesitantly. "He's not here," she murmured with a smile in the Narian Prince's direction.

"Haruhi," he started with surprise before his same suave smirk returned. She tried not to groan. He was still somehow pining for her attentions even after Kyoya and Fuyumi's efforts to keep him away from her. "My little brother left you all by your lonesome?" he asked with mock sympathy.

"He's coming right back. Said something about needing to see a tailor about my ball gown." She didn't like the way the 26-year-old was looking at her. Regardless of whether he was in a wheelchair or not.

"Was the Corporal with him?"

"Corporal...?" she questioned, smoothly trying to sound like she didn't know who he was talking about.

"Corporal Namahi Marioka. You haven't met him?" She shook her head. "He's a Kiran soldier set to

_protect _Kyoya while he's here. But it's more like he's babysitting us. Personally, I think little brother's taken a liking to him." She almost blanched at the way the older man's voice suggested something possibly sexual just like the way his eyebrows wiggling implied something of the same nature.

"I severely doubt that your... _line of thought _is correct Your Highness. Kyoya is too... good-natured to cheat on me. And even if he wasn't, one: he knows better, and two: it most certainly wouldn't be with a man." Her regular blunt tone cut through the air eliciting a chuckle both from Akito and another person who was approaching. Haruhi turned. Kyoya closed the rest of the space between them, engulfing her in his arms and smell all at once.

"You seem awfully sure of yourself, my dear," he murmured mischievously in her ear, a low chuckle barely hinted in his words as his arms squeezed her waist lightly before releasing her. "Did you need something Akito?"

"Yuichii was wondering if you could watch Yuki for a bit while he gets her dress."

"I took care of it already while I was obtaining Haruhi's."

Akito rose an eyebrow. "Is that so?" The younger Ohtori nodded in quiet response.

"I shall inform _Hbi Uherbro _and not bother you further until the ball."

"Thank you, Akito," Kyoya answered curtly, sweeping through his bedroom door with Haruhi hooked on one arm. He closed the door and let out a small growl, "Assumptive bastard."

"Agreed. He gives me just a small dose of the creeps," she muttered ungraciously with a frown. The Akito from her dream flitted into her mind; brown eyes softer, lips curved slightly in an empathetical sad smile, eyebrows creased with something akin to worry but not quite. What the hell would have to happen in order for _that _look to appear on _that _man's face?

–

The second sign came in the form of flowing fabric, a corset (or a bodice – she couldn't really tell the difference between the two), silk ribbon, and thread all thrown together in the form of a dress.

A lavender dress.

A lavender dress that looked eerily like the one from her dream.

"Kyoya?" she squeaked in a voice an octave higher than her normal one – partially because the corset-bodice-_whatever _made it harder to breath and partially because her anxiety was making it that way. She stared at her form in the mirror behind the folding board that had been put up for her to change behind, distinctly remembering this exact dress and every other image that had come with it.

"Hmm?" he hummed from the other side, sounding incredibly close.

"Are you positively _sure _that this is my dress?" _'Oh please _God _let him say no.'_

Instead of answering her the way she would have liked him to, he retorted with a question of his own, "Why? Is it not the right size?" And why the hell did he sound displeased with that? Angry even?

"No, no! Though it is a bit difficult to breathe, it seems to fit alright..."

"What's the problem then, Haruhi?"

She took a deep breath, stepped out from behind the screen and slurred, "Idon'tthinkthisisaverygoodidea," with such speed that he would hardly have heard her if he'd been paying attention. As it was, he'd been too busy admiring her appearance to do anything of the sort.

He blinked a few times. "What?" he managed dumbly after a few more moments of merely staring at her. He hadn't calculated that getting her that particular dress would prove to look so incredibly stunning on her that it became a distraction. Though it was a bit more simple than some that would probably be worn, it was elegant in it's own right.

Off-the-shoulders long light lavender sleeves bound themselves loosely around the tops of her forearms and wrists. The skirt was only a bit darker than the sleeves and flowed casually to her ankles. The bodice, the darkest purple of the ensemble, was basically a loose corset that was tight enough to take away some of her breathing capabilities while accenting her curves in just the right way.

He had to swallow just to moisten his mouth enough to be able to get the single word he'd spoken out. She sighed in exasperation, obviously unhappy with his 'choice' of words. "I don't think this is a good idea," she repeated, slower this time just to ensure that it got through to him this time.

"Why do you believe so?" he replied, choosing his words carefully as to not upset her.

"This... This is the dress from my dream."

He was silent, contemplating what she was telling him with a slight frown on his normally composed face. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything. Perhaps all the images in your dream aren't connected at all." She pursed her lips, annoyed with his obvious avoidance of the subject. She let it slide, however, knowing it was better than push him for an actual answer. She stepped around him lightly to allow him to get himself dressed behind the screen, looking for the shoes he had set aside somewhere for her earlier.

"Kyoya?"

"Hmm?" he hummed from behind the screen. She glanced over and briefly saw the hazy outline of him pushing his pants down to change them. She looked away again, searching idly for the purple flats, if only to keep herself from turning red.

"Where did you put my shoes?"

"Oh. By the bathroom door I think. Either that or the balcony." Haruhi sighed as she noticed them sitting right where he had said they were. She strode over quickly and slid her feet into them.

"And my wig?"

"Bathroom." She wandered toward the bathroom that they shared, avoiding turning her eyes toward the screen. Her long brown wig was already styled and sitting near the sink. She carefully brushed back her hair, which actually could use a bit of a trim just by itself. She felt a presence behind her a split second before a pair of pale slender hands picked the wig up and placed it gently on her head. She pushed her real hair underneath the net, looking in the mirror in front of her and at both the extra hair sticking out and at the head that was slowly lowering itself next to hers to rest it's chin on her shoulder.

She replaced her hands at her sides, looking at them in the mirror. His hair was in perfect order, as it always was. His glasses set on his face in a way that made the onyx eyes behind them glint slightly with mischief. "Beautiful," he whispered, referring to her hair. She swore that, just for a moment, her heart skipped a beat at the compliment. She took a quick look at her hair. It was done up in an elegant but messy bun, strands from the bangs left out to frame her face.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked between the two of them. He was born and raised royalty. She was supposed to have been but ended up being raised as the daughter of a royal court member. She inwardly shook her head. They shouldn't be together. Hell, they weren't even _together_, they were _faking_. They wouldn't have even met if she hadn't been the spy that Kira sent to him.

She got that feeling in her stomach again. That feeling of apprehensive fear. Like _something _was going to happen. Something not necessarily good, but wasn't necessarily bad either. It was the feeling you got right before you throw up everything you've eaten because of apprehension.

"Scared?" he asked softly, breath whispering over her ear.

"Terrified," she whispered back. He merely smirked and pulled her away from the mirror, toward the door; toward the source of her nervousness.

–

She was nervous for reasons that she couldn't explain. Yes, she was about to go out in front of hundreds of people dressed as a woman, but Kyoya had said that no one would know who she was. And she trusted him right? Yes she did. Why did she even need to question her trust in him?

"Haruhi," his voice broke through her thoughts. Her eyes shot to his in surprise. He chuckled, "You'll be fine. Everything will be fine." How many times now had he said those words to her since he'd met her? And every time he spoke them they ended up being true.

"I know," she replied softly, shooting him a smile. He returned it with a smirk. He took her hand gently and squeezed it with silent reassurance that his words were true before nodding at the doorman to announce them.

"His royal majesty Kyoya Ohtori, King of Nari, and his companion, Haruhi Fari!" Eyes turned to the staircase almost at once. Haruhi swallowed anxiously as he led her down the stairs with ease. His brothers followed behind them, Yuiichi with Yuki and Akito alone. Fuyumi and Fuko after them. Each announced separately.

The Narian King, of course, led her straight to the dance floor, holding her tight in an almost protective manner as he danced with alertness. She stayed close to him, anxious that she was be scrutinized by the crowd but not for the reasons that most women would worry about. She couldn't calm herself no matter how much he tried to put her at ease.

"May I step in?" a calm gentle voice cut in. Haruhi looked up. "I promised myself that I'd have a dance with the woman who seems to have cracked through the cold-hearted Prince Kyoya Ohtori's shell." She stared at the Kiran King for the longest time, then glanced at her current dance partner.

"I'm willing to allow her, if she's willing to leave my side," Kyoya replied politely with a smile in Yuzuru's direction as he met Haruhi's gaze. She gave him a pleading look but he merely chuckled and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Go on, my dear. You'll never know how well I dance unless you dance with a few other men as well." She glowered as him slightly as her placed her hand in Yuzuru Suoh's and turned in the direction of the punch bowl.

"You clean up quite nicely, Miss Marioka," Tamaki's father murmured as he began leading her through a waltz. Haruhi looked at him apprehensively.

"I'm... not sure what you're talking about Your Majesty."

"Come now, Namahi. I've watched you grow up with my son. You thought that I didn't know you were a woman?"

She was quiet for a moment, trying to think up a suitable answer. "You're certainly more observant than Tamaki is."

He chuckled and replied, "I've had more practice. My only question at the moment is why you're with the third son of Yoshio Ohtori than someone closer to home like Tamaki or one of the twins."

"Promise you won't tell?" she teasingly questioned. He nodded solemnly. "We're faking it so his family doesn't suspect anything when I'm there spying for Kira."

Yuzuru raised an eyebrow. "He approves of this sneaking?"

She was quiet, trying to answer in a way that would make sense when truly talking about the young Ohtori. "He... doesn't _approve _per say. But he doesn't mind helping me stay safe so long as I don't put him or his family in any immediate danger."

"So it was probably you who soiled the assassination attempt."

"Forgive me Your Majesty," she stated softly, "I just don't believe that killing either royal family will do anything at all to help finish the war. Kyoya doesn't either. He's a good man."

"With this, I'm in agreement with. Assassinations are no way to end a war. However, I can't say that I can condone the foiling of a planned Kiran operation. You'll have to see to it yourself that none of the generals find out about your little deal with him. I'm afraid that if they do and act to arrest you, I won't be able to stop them from doing so nor will Tamaki."

"Your warning is heeded, Your Majesty."

"Good." He slowed his dancing to a stop along the edge of the ballroom. "Now, allow me to return you to your companion, Miss Fari."

–

Half an hour of dancing later, Haruhi's feet were getting sore and Kyoya was getting tired of attempting to calm her while in the eyes of the public. "Come with me," he murmured, leading her carefully out to the same balcony that she seemed to always get stuck on with someone during a ball or party like this. The only difference was that it was still cold despite it almost being spring, thus she scowled as the cool evening air hit her skin through the thin material of her sleeves.

"Why are we out here?" she asked, wrapped her arms around herself. A jacket dropped onto her shoulders seconds later. She looked at him quickly as he walked past her toward the bannister. He motioned her over then leaned against the stone behind him. She moved forward slowly to stand beside him. He faced her after a moment.

"We're out here, because we both need a break and you obviously can't calm down."

She scoffed lightly. "I was calm."

"You were gripping my hand so hard I thought it might make my fingertips fall asleep," he deadpanned, narrowing his eyes at her. She sighed and moved one of her hands up to run through her hair until she realized halfway there that she was wearing a wig and said wig was styled in a way that made it impossible to do so without accidentally pulling it off.

"I'm... I'm sorry," she mumbled. He shook his head, reaching over to take her hand.

"I have... something of a gift for you," he muttered, placing his free hand in his pocket. She held her breath, somehow already knowing what it was.

_The ring_.

"It was my mother's," he said softly as she examined it to confirm that it was the one from her dream. Diamonds, silver, and amethyst. "When in the hands of a person with natural magic like my mother, you can communicate with people across the continent if needed." She let out the breath she'd been holding, relieved, possibly because she had thought that he was going to propose to her again.

"How's it work?" she questioned, taking it in her hands.

"It becomes warm when a message is coming through to you from the person with the necklace that goes with it, which I have. To receive it, press the amethyst to a piece of paper and say _Lego_. To send something to me, write the message down, press the amethyst to the first word say _Cogo_, and move the stone to the last word. The longer the message the more magic it takes so I suggest keeping it under 20 words."

She slipped it onto her ring finger carefully, feeling like she might break it if she wasn't cautious. "It's beautiful." She was quiet, still very much relieved that he hadn't proposed or something similar.

"It also have the Narian royal crest engraved in the silver under the amethyst, so I wouldn't advise wearing it on your hand while you're here as a soldier." She nodded in agreement, staying silent. He turned back toward the view from the balcony. Seconds later she heard the last thing that had followed the first section of her dream. A scream.

Her entire body froze when she heard the muffled scream of a woman coming from inside. Kyoya looked toward the doors over his shoulder then strode quickly toward them while she stayed still, staring at his back. He opened one of the doors, looking in to see what the commotion was about. "Stay here," he called back to her. He moved inside and closed the door behind him, out of her sight. She did as he told her to.

Kyoya found the source of the scream by a group of people crowded around something. He saw Tamaki rushing toward the place. Kyoya's stomach churned, getting the feeling in his gut that he was sure Haruhi had felt earlier. As he got closer he could hear Tamaki talking to the twins hurriedly. "Someone go get Namahi."

"The Corporal's sick," Kyoya interjected as he entered the scene. He faltered for a moment when he saw Ranka on the ground but kept up his expressionless face.

Hikaru and Kaoru both knelt next to their king, keeping his heart beating with spells until a healer could get there. Tamaki looked up at him for a single second before he said, "His father just had a heart attack."

Kyoya stood there, his mind moving a mile a minute as he tried to decide what to do. "I'll retrieve him," he said in a barely audible voice as he took back off towards the balcony. When he returned back into Haruhi's sight, her immediate question was asked in a very soft voice, "Who's dead?"

He swallowed and opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself for some reason, waiting until he could fully analyze her guilt-ridden expression before he told her, "It's your father."

"What?" she gasped, falling to her knees. He could already see tears pooling in her eyes making her seem weak and defenseless – which he knew for a fact that she _wasn't_. "Dad's dead?"

He looked at her in surprise before realizing his mistake. "What? No. God no. No one's _dead_. I apologize... I should have clarified. Your father isn't dead, Haruhi. He had a heart attack."

Though this came as a relief to her, she still did the slightest bit of freaking. "_What_?" Kyoya blinked as she just about stumbled over her own feet trying to make a mad dash to her father's side.

"Haruhi," he muttered, trying to reason with her as he held her back, "You're a woman right now, you can't go out there proclaiming your inherent worry over your _father _or there will be consequences."

"What do you suggest I do then?" she growled, glaring at him. He almost winced. She was obviously sore from him not clarifying that her was _not _dead earlier than he had. "Just... Let him lay out there and think that his only child doesn't care the least bit about him?"

"I severely doubt that he has _ever _thought that, Haruhi." His mind whirred as he tried to think of a solution to this. If she left the ball, changed and returned as Namahi it would probably take too long and could possibly mean giving the army reason to suspect her for some kind of treason. If she just blatantly went out there as she was at that moment there was no doubt in his mind that she would be arrested and hung nearly immediately.

"I'll pretend he's my uncle if I have to, Kyoya," she stated then. The light bulb went off in his head a little hesitantly.

"It's possible," he muttered to himself. She snorted and mumbled a soft, "more than that..." He shot her a condescending look as he thought quickly. Akito would question it, but he could easily write it off as his lover's father and the Corporal's being half-brothers. He nearly rubbed his temple. He shouldn't have been needing to think about this. "Alright. He's your Uncle. Go." He'd deal with the repercussions if any of them came up.

At his permission and release, she hurried toward her father, knowing deep within her that he was possibly the most amazing man she'd ever known. Purely because she knew he would cover for her even if it meant getting himself into trouble.

–

**A/N: Excuse the horribleness of this chapter. I was in a vicodin-induced semi-loopiness while writing a lot of it. (If you're asking yourself why I'm on VICODIN, it's because I broke my collar bone. Don't ask.) Super long to make up for the wait? 8D? Like... 15 pages and 8000 words long? (You better LOVE me. I have exams coming up yet I _still _worked hard to finish this.) **

**Kudos to: XxNightShroudxX, Enigmaticrose4, The Phantom Devil, Mrs. Ootori43ver, YukiruandPercabeth, nightworldluvr4ever, michiiyu, JUCHKO, SnowWolfSpirit, Countess of Western March, hannachan, and mel. That's 12. Jeez. I'm giving out a lot of kudos as of late. Oh and I almost forgot the lovely Koharu Veddette for being my loyal beta reader even when I'm not so frequent with my updates. **

**I... wouldn't expect another update before at July. (I get out of school June 28th.) Yeah... It just probably won't happen till summer hits and I have obscene amounts of free time. I apologize in advance for the wait!**

**Please don't give up on me! There's still (some) hope! Love to all of you for putting up with me! **

**- E.M. Megs**


	20. Chap 19 PREVIEW

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 19 – PREVIEW_

**A/N: I'm so incredibly sorry about how late this update is. I was going to have it out when I came back from camp but my computer FAILED EPICALLY and won't turn back on. Dad's working to get all my files off but don't count on it happening any time soon. Mean time, I shall be rewriting this chapter on my parents' computers when they're free. I hope you guys enjoy this preview while I work like a maniac. **

Haruhi hurried toward the crowd that was quickly gathering. Kaoru, his parents, and Tamaki were trying their best to keep them at bay while Hikaru worked on her father. "When did it start Ranka?" he asked softly as she approached in front of Tamaki.

"Hour. Didn't think… Anything of it." She felt her heart twist at the amount of pain in her father's voice. She looked at Tamaki. He turned his eyes to hers, blinked once, and nodded, understanding shining in his eyes.

"Uncle Ranka?" she inquired in a small voice, wondering if he was coherent enough to recognize his own daughter. Hikaru's eyes shot to hers questioningly. Then he glanced at the Narian Prince behind her and immediately understood.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes, it's me." She knelt carefully, her dress flowing out around her as she took his hand. She swallowed and looked at Hikaru, feeling more helpless than she'd ever felt in her life. "Heart attack…?"

"The beginnings," Hikaru replied quietly, "Chances are that if a doctor doesn't watch over him through the night he may not make it." He was straightforward and to the point. She liked that about Hikaru. When it came to the people she cared about he never lied about their condition.

"I'll watch him," Kyoya said from near Kaoru. Haruhi's gaze shifted faster than a jackrabbit to his face. He looked back to her unfazed. "He is Haruhi's uncle. He may as well be my uncle too. I'll stay with her, her cousin, and uncle tonight and make sure that Ranka gets the proper care." Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Someone get Namahi." He ignored the Narian King's statement.

"The Corporal is sick," Kyoya retorted, "Hardly able to get out of bed."

"His father had a heart attack. He needs to know. If you knew him, you would know that the moment that his father has even the slightest cold, no matter where he is or how he is, he's there by his side." Hikaru's voice was cold, speaking clearly of his dislike with Kyoya and displeasure with his obvious influence on his friend's life.

Kyoya stared hard at him. Haruhi stood up, letting her father's hand drop. "Kyoya, it's alright. You're going home tomorrow morning anyway." He shook his head.

"I studied medicine with my brother," he said, "Quite extensively when I was 19. I know how to treat him if given the right materials. I can stay with him and watch him. And that way I don't have to leave Haruhi either."

"Kyoya," Haruhi muttered under her breath in frustration. She brought a hand to her forehead, kneading softly. This was giving her a headache. If he stayed longer, then it just meant that she had to be undercover for a longer time than she wanted. That she would have to risk her entire life in Kira for another few days.

Hikaru glared at the Narian and opened his mouth but Kaoru interrupted him. "Alright. We have to move him home first though." His twin started to protest but one look from his younger brother and father silenced him.

"I'll prepare my things and move to the Marioka residence." He turned abruptly, breaking his eye contact with Haruhi as he started toward his room. Other guests were whispering now. Probably about his involvement with a supposed Kiran. Akito's eyes were burning with anger as he intercepted his younger brother as he was about to leave the ball room. "I don't have time for this Akito."

"Really… _You_ _seem to have plenty of time for coercing with a Kiran though_. _I _knew _you were connected to that damn Corporal somehow._" Narian words spit out of his mouth at a mile a minute in his anger.

Kyoya sighed inwardly and switched languages to help his brother process. "_Haruhi herself is full Narian_," he growled the lie with ease, "_Her father and the Corporal's are half brothers with the same mother. Her grandfather is Narian, his is Kiran._" He glared at his brother, fists clenching slightly at his sides in an attempt to calm him.

"She may as well be a _Sanki_, the way that she cares for them." Akito's lips curled in disgust as he looked toward the brunette female he was talking about. Kyoya resisted the urge to hit him for his bias. This was the reason that the war was still a war. Men in power like his brother who were so strongly biased toward the 'enemy' race that they had an unorthodox hatred toward them as well.

He glanced back at Haruhi as she knelt dutifully at her father's side. Then he caught sight of one Kiran General Fusawa gazing at her with a glint in his eye. Kyoya couldn't tell from where he was if it was malicious or not, but he still didn't like it. Especially if he could see any of the sorts of attachments he was getting to the girl. He noticed Fusawa glance at him and made sure to give him a hard glare. The older man merely nodded his head politely with pursed lips as Kyoya turned his back on him to return to his previous task of moving into Haruhi's house.

**A/N: I would really make it longer (or even a whole chapter) but I don't think I can write a whole chapter before I leave for a much needed vacation on Monday. Sorry guys.**

**Kudos to all my faithful readers and everyone who reviewed last chapter: Nessie-san, Countess of Western March, BlossomCutie, XxNightShroudxX, Just a Reviewer, YukiruandPercabeth, Twilightrewriter, The Phantom Devil, Kyoton, Magpie09, Enigmaticrose4, JUCHKO, Zelda, and kitty13492. **

**By the way, thanks to all who wished me luck on all my exams. I got a 4 on my IB exams, 1640 on my SATs, and passed all my class exams without fault. **

**And I saw Harry Potter for the midnight premiere. It was amazing and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that it's over. Probably never will and am actually thinking about writing fanfiction for it… If I can get any ideas. **


	21. 19: Extended Stay

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 19 – Extended Stay_

Haruhi hurried toward the crowd that was quickly gathering. Kaoru, his parents, and Tamaki were trying their best to keep them at bay while Hikaru worked on her father. "When did it start Ranka?" he asked softly as she approached in front of Tamaki.

"Hour. Didn't think… Anything of it." She felt her heart twist at the amount of pain in her father's voice. She looked at Tamaki. He turned his eyes to hers, blinked once, and nodded, understanding shining in his eyes.

"Uncle Ranka?" she inquired in a small voice, wondering if he was coherent enough to recognize his own daughter. Hikaru's eyes shot to hers questioningly. Then he glanced at the Narian Prince behind her and immediately understood.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes, it's me." She knelt carefully, her dress flowing out around her as she took his hand. She swallowed and looked at Hikaru, feeling more helpless than she'd ever felt in her life. "Heart attack…?"

"The beginnings," Hikaru replied quietly, "Chances are that if a doctor doesn't watch over him through the night he may not make it." He was straightforward and to the point. She liked that about Hikaru. When it came to the people she cared about he never lied about their condition.

"I'll watch him," Kyoya said from near Kaoru. Haruhi's gaze shifted faster than a jackrabbit to his face. He looked back to her unfazed. "He is Haruhi's uncle. He may as well be my uncle too. I'll stay with her, her cousin, and uncle tonight and make sure that Ranka gets the proper care." Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Someone get Namahi." He ignored the Narian King's statement.

"The Corporal is sick," Kyoya retorted, "Hardly able to get out of bed."

"His father had a heart attack. He needs to know. If you knew him, you would know that the moment that his father has even the slightest cold, no matter where he is or how he is, he's there by his side." Hikaru's voice was cold, speaking clearly of his dislike with Kyoya and displeasure with his obvious influence on his friend's life.

Kyoya stared hard at him. Haruhi stood up, letting her father's hand drop. "Kyoya, it's alright. You're going home tomorrow morning anyway." He shook his head.

"I studied medicine with my brother," he said, "Quite extensively when I was 19. I know how to treat him if given the right materials. I can stay with him and watch him. And that way I don't have to leave Haruhi either."

"Kyoya," Haruhi muttered under her breath in frustration. She brought a hand to her forehead, kneading softly. This was giving her a headache. If he stayed longer, then it just meant that she had to be undercover for a longer time than she wanted. That she would have to risk her entire life in Kira for another few days.

Hikaru glared at the Narian and opened his mouth but Kaoru interrupted him. "Alright. We have to move him home first though." His twin started to protest but one look from his younger brother and father silenced him.

"I'll prepare my things and move to the Marioka residence." He turned abruptly, breaking his eye contact with Haruhi as he started toward his room. Other guests were whispering now. Probably about his involvement with a supposed Kiran. Akito's eyes were burning with anger as he intercepted his younger brother as he was about to leave the ball room. "I don't have time for this Akito."

"Really… _You_ _seem to have plenty of time for coercing with a Kiran though_. _I_knew _you were connected to that damn Corporal somehow._" Narian words spit out of his mouth at a mile a minute in his anger.

Kyoya sighed inwardly and switched languages to help his brother process. "_Haruhi herself is full Narian_," he growled the lie with ease, "_Her father and the Corporal's are half brothers with the same mother. Her grandfather is Narian, his is Kiran._" He glared at his brother, fists clenching slightly at his sides in an attempt to calm him.

"She may as well be a _Sanki_, the way that she cares for them." Akito's lips curled in disgust as he looked toward the brunette female he was talking about. Kyoya resisted the urge to hit him for his bias. This was the reason that the war was still a war. Men in power like his brother who were so strongly biased toward the 'enemy' race that they had an unorthodox hatred toward them as well.

He glanced back at Haruhi as she knelt dutifully at her father's side. Then he caught sight of one Kiran General Fusawa gazing at her with a glint in his eye. Kyoya couldn't tell from where he was if it was malicious or not, but he still didn't like it. Especially if he could see any of the sorts of attachments he was getting to the girl. He noticed Fusawa glance at him and made sure to give him a hard glare. The older man merely nodded his head politely with pursed lips as Kyoya turned his back on him to return to his previous task of moving into Haruhi's house.

"Haruhi." It was a voice again, calling her name. She couldn't remember exactly how many times this had happened. Where she'd heard someone calling for her and then there was no one there. She turned, looking for the source of it.

"Haruhi." At first she had thought it was someone trying to guide her. Someone like her mother who was gone but still there in spirit. Whether it was male or female though she couldn't decipher. It was always genderless.

"Haruhi, wake up."

Her eyes opened groggily, looking up at the Narian royal standing next to her bed. Wait… Bed? That was funny. She didn't remember falling asleep in her bed. In fact… Why the hell was Kyoya here? Her sleepy mind struggled to comprehend for several moments then she remembered.

Sitting at her father's bedside, stubbornly resisting Kyoya's attempts to get her to go to bed. Watching him carefully look after Ranka with the medical and magical knowledge he possessed. Gazing at the redhead while he slept and praying that he would be alright.

"You fell asleep about an hour after midnight," Kyoya informed her lightly as he placed a cup of steaming tea on her bedside table. "It's about two hours till noon now."

"Shouldn't you be leaving soon?" She cringed when she realized that she'd slept in that late.

"I went to the palace early this morning and asked to stay for a few more days to insure your father's condition remains stable. Yuzuru told me someone else could do it, but I refused. Trying to get rid of me are you?"

"It's not that I want you to leave, it's that you aren't… Crap." She could feel her face turning red. He rose an eyebrow in silent amusement. She shot a glare in his direction and failed in continuing her thought.

"So… You _do _want me here."

She sighed in frustration. "Will you get out of here!" She shoved the blankets previously covering her off and stood, pushing him toward the door.

He chuckled and muttered, "Be sure to drink your tea." She looked once at the tea then back at her now closed bedroom door. She shook away the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was off, deciding it was better to get ready for the day now. She changed out of dress she'd fallen asleep in and into the clean one hanging on her door, figuring that she was still undercover since she couldn't very easily leave for camp as Namahi when Kyoya was in her house.

She picked up the mug of tea and inhaled the scent. Lemon? Or was it mint? "Kyoya!" she called, pulling open her bedroom door to search for the man. "What kind of tea is this?"

"The kind that will keep you healthy for a long time if you drink it every morning," he replied shortly and without looking up from the book that he'd pulled off of one of her various bookshelves. She gave him an exasperated look to voice her frustration with him. "Just trust me, Haruhi." She rolled her eyes and took a small sip of it, blinking in surprise when she found that it wasn't that bad.

"Did you give this to Dad?"

"With a few herbal supplements that should boost his heart health and immune system, yes." He turned a page.

"How is he?"

This time, he did look up. "He's lucky that he apparently has very little of a physical pain threshold, otherwise no one would have caught the fact that he was having a heart attack until it was too late. The fact that he collapsed at the first sign of chest pain saved his life." Haruhi released a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding. "His blood pressure is rather high. Adjusting his diet to include less salt and more fish and mushrooms would be a good idea. Garlic and hawthorn every day should help as well."

"Were you up all night?"

"Basically."

She was quiet for a while, just standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Then she strode in and started making breakfast, sipping on her tea while she waited for things to cook. Kyoya rubbed his temples. "How long are you staying?" she finally mumbled as she scooped eggs onto a plate and placed it in front of him.

"Two days. Three at most," he grunted, taking the fork she offered and digging into the food.

"You should probably sleep for a bit then," Haruhi murmured thoughtfully, "You can take my bed and I can look after Dad."

"Gladly," he muttered after swallowing.

"It's just you staying I hope."

"Yes. Yuzuru said something about the military being displeased if I stayed longer than three days so I told him I'd be gone by that time." She blinked as she realized he was on his last bite of food. He stood seconds later. "I already gave your father his medicine. Check on him at least once an hour to be sure that his heartbeat and breathing is regular. If there's any problem, wake me." She nodded wordlessly as he passed her in the direction of her bedroom. She let out a sigh.

Tamaki and the twins were sure to be there soon. She would have to be sure that they stayed quiet when they did arrive so they wouldn't wake Kyoya. She wandered back toward Ranka's bedroom and settled down next to his bed, leaning over to listen to his heart. Everything sounded normal. She placed a hand on his forehead. No sweating or fever either. She sighed and squeezed his hand once before turning to get her own breakfast.

Tamaki and the twins, as expected were loud and obnoxious from the moment they stepped through the door. "Quiet!" she hissed at them angrily, "Dad and Kyoya are sleeping!"

"Ranka's will probably sleep through a windstorm," Kaoru mentioned, looking thoughtfully mischievous.

"Who cares if we wake up that prat?" Hikaru muttered at the same time, just barely loud enough for her to hear.

She gave him a strong glare. "He stayed up all night taking care of Dad. And he's not the most pleasant person when woken up before he's ready either," she stated with a hard edge. "Don't be such a stuck-up prick." She turned away from him.

"You look amazing." She swung around again, narrowing her eyes at a tomato red Tamaki. She looked down at the dress she was wearing then glared at him, heart aching painfully in her chest. It was nearly as bad as when Kyoya kissed her, which she now realized had not happened for two days. A slight frown overtook her face. It was pleasant that it hadn't happened, but it was odd, especially considering that she had been acting as his lover during most of that time. But because of the role she was playing it was odd.

"Something wrong?" Kaoru's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Ah… No. Nothing's wrong. Just thinking is all."

"How's your father?" Tamaki asked, having recovered from his earlier fiasco.

"He's… doing well. I think." It was time to check on him now that she thought about it. She hurried back to his side. In fact, she hadn't checked on him for a while. That made her move faster. She pressed her ear to his heart. _Bm-bmp, Bm-bmp, Bm-bm-bmp, Bm-bm-bmp._She frowned. He groaned and pulled a hand to his chest.

She practically ran to her bedroom where Kyoya was sleeping. "Kyoya," she muttered, shaking him, "Dammit, you told me to wake you if his heart beat was off. It _is_! And he's in pain again! _Wake. Up._"

Kyoya grunted and threw his legs over the side of the bed. She jumped back to avoid being kicked. "This is why I'm never _ever_going to be an on-call doctor," he grumbled under his breath as he lumbered toward Ranka's bedroom once more. She watched from the door as he calmly (but grumpily) checked her father's pulse and breathing rate. "Willow bark," he murmured under his breath, "I'll need Willow bark and hawthorn."

"Kaoru! Willow bark and hawthorn! Run to your mother's and get it will you?" She heard him yell an affirmative and take off. She took her father's hand. Kyoya kept careful track of his pulse. Haruhi stared at the raven-haired male hard. He stared straight back calmly.

"He'll be fine," Kyoya murmured soothingly.

"If he's not do I have permission to kill you in replacement?" she asked back bitingly. He didn't respond to her ice, just pursed his lips. She almost felt bad about snapping at him when he was trying to help. Almost, but not quite. She was scared. When she was scared, she didn't really think about other people.

Kaoru returned. Kyoya practically jumped him for the materials he was carrying in his arms. "Haruhi. Leave the room please," he instructed in a voice that actually sounded slightly strained calm as it was.

"What? No!"

"I can't work with you breathing down my back," he growled, taking her wrist and pushing her lightly towards the door. "Besides, you may not want to be here for this."

Her fear jumped into her throat. Kaoru took her arm and pulled her out of the room before she could respond to his comment. What the hell was he doing to her father? She struggled against Kaoru's grasp for a moment. "Haruhi," the younger twin whispered in her ear, "He's right. It's probably better if you aren't in there with him." She looked at him, sense flooding back into her. She nodded, sitting herself down in the seat that Tamaki pulled out for her.

When the Narian King emerged, she didn't even look up. "He's fine. Just an aftershock." He paused and she could feel his eyes burning into the back of her skull. "Haruhi…?"

"Thank you," she mumbled, finally turning. She hated that she felt an insane amount of gratitude and duty fill her chest. This was not the way things were supposed to be. He was not supposed to be helping her. They never should have even met.

And yet… She was happy they had.

"It's not a problem," he murmured in reply, "Now if you'll excuse me." He walked back toward her bedroom without another word. Haruhi let him, knowing he deserved the sleep.

"Would a prat save my father's life?" she asked Hikaru quietly, giving him a stare that would have made anyone else uncomfortable. But this was Hikaru. He'd grown up around her piercing stares and was now seemingly immune to them. Either that or he didn't care. She noticed Tamaki shifting in a manner that showed he wasn't exactly comfortable and she wasn't even looking at him.

"Just because he's an occasionally thoughtful prat doesn't mean that he's not a prat all the same," Hikaru muttered, shifting his gaze away from her. "We need to be heading back to camp today."

"I can't go," she replied flippantly, "Tell the General that I'm still on duty here looking after King Kyoya."

"He's not going to be happy," the twins clucked simultaneously.

"Too bad," she snorted, "Not like I have a choice. He already asked the permission of Yuzuru." Tamaki shifted more at the mention of his father. "Tamaki, is there something wrong with you or are there just ants in your pants?" The blonde jumped with surprise at being addressed.

"It's just…" He shifted his gaze away again. She looked down at herself, wondering if she had something on her. "Dad's… He only gave Kyoya permission to stay because he's trying to keep some kind of hold over the military. And he only specifically allowed him to stay because it was you that needed his assistance."

"And there's something wrong with that, why?" He was quiet. She rethought his words. "… Why does he need to keep hold over the military? Tamaki… What's going on?"

"Just thought you should know that I'm going to visit Mother for a few weeks. She's sick again."

"Tamaki. Don't change the subject. What's going on between General Fusawa and your father?"

"Nothing! Okay? Nothing's going on! Just forget I said anything!"

She was about to start grilling him mercilessly when Kaoru placed a hand on her arm. She looked at him, and understood at once. The blonde prince was probably uncomfortable with talking about the Kiran military when a Narian royal was present in the house who could be overhearing everything they were saying. Tamaki was occasionally idiotic but even he didn't particularly want to give away the secrets of the country that he was heir to. She nodded and apologized to him quietly.

Kyoya slept through the entire day and most of the night, waking up at 6 AM to find Haruhi asleep at her father's bedside. He sighed inwardly and went over to scoop her up and carry her to bed as he had the night before.

It seemed like most of this time was spent with them being awake in shifts.

He returned silently to Ranka's bedside, checking his temperature, pulse, and breathing rate. Everything seemed normal to him. The redhead's eyes cracked open slightly just as he was turning to leave. Kyoya stopped in his tracks. "Where's Namahi?" he croaked.

"Sleeping."

"What're you doing here?"

"Attending to your medical needs."

"Why?"

"She trusts me, your daughter, as I trust her. I would be a fool to leave the two of you here while you're in the condition that you're in. I'd practically be betraying her trust." He tried rationalizing to his friend's father, but knew that the other man knew he had stayed because he wanted to. The appearances and trust bullshit he was spewing were just excuses for him not to admit it out loud.

Ranka eyed him almost wearily. Like an animal watches another creature that they aren't familiar with. Kyoya glanced away from him, unsure of what to do or say. He took some of the extra medicine he'd prepared the day before when he'd been so rudely interrupted and the tea cup sitting by the bed.

"How long are you staying?"

"Just another day or two. As soon as I've determined that your health is stable enough on its own, I'll be on my way that to Nari."

"You care about Haruhi don't you?" This final question was asked just as he was about to exit. He froze again.

Without looking back he muttered, "You could say that. Though I wouldn't necessarily say that it actually means anything. And I'd never call it affection of any sort. I look after her, she looks after my family and I." With that he finally left the room, aiming to make the redhead some medicinal tea. He returned a few minutes later and handed the cup to Ranka. "Drink that and it should help."

"What's in it?"

"Willow bark for any pain, hawthorn to help your heart and echinacea for your immune system." Ranka carefully and very slowly pushed himself into an upright position after setting the tea down on the table. Kyoya hurriedly moved to help him. "Careful," he murmured as Ranka settled back against his repositioned pillow.

The Narian made to leave but found a surprisingly strong grip on his arm holding him in place. He looked Haruhi's father in the eye. "Make sure she stays out of trouble. Please. Don't let her do anything potentially dangerous to her wellbeing. I couldn't lose her too." Kyoya merely nodded and left as soon as Ranka let go.

For the first time, he felt chills run up his back from the intensity of the encounter with Haruhi's father.

The day he was leaving, Kyoya asked Haruhi. "What was Tamaki blabbering about the military and his father's control?"

Her hand froze halfway to her mouth. She hadn't thought he'd heard that. "He just said that the only reason his father let you stay was because you were staying for me." She left out the first part of what Tamaki said.

"Haruhi, don't leave out details. They could be important to ending the war. What did he say?"

She swallowed. Tamaki would hate her for this later. "He said that he let you stay to show the military that he still had some kind of control over them."

Kyoya sat, stirring his food around his plate in contemplation. What did that mean? "Has the military been particularly forceful about any plans lately?"

"That is a question for my father and Yuzuru. Not for me. Since I'm _in_the military I don't know what goes on between the royal court and the military. I just do what I'm ordered to do." He put his fork down.

"Is it possible… that the military, more specifically Fusawa, is trying to throw off the royal family's power over him?"

"It's possible…" Haruhi trailed off, now understanding where he was going with his thoughts. "No. There's no way that the military's out of control."

"Think about it. I'm practically the one that killed Fusawa's son. If he's forcing through plans to try and get revenge, then he's probably part of the reason that the war's still going."

"At the ball," she mumbled, almost to herself, "King Yuzuru said that he wouldn't be able to stop the military from arresting me if they found out what I was doing in Nari. Normally, the King can override that decision." She frowned. She didn't like what was happening here. She didn't like it at all.

"We have… lost a lot of control over the military." A new voice joined. Haruhi looked up sharply at the sound of her father's voice. He was leaning against the doorframe.

"What are you doing up?" she demanded, quickly standing to help him into a seat.

"Kyoya said that if I wanted or needed to, I could leave my bed." She shot a dirty look at Kyoya that promised repercussions for this. "Besides, I couldn't help overhearing. The royal court has, in a sense, lost control of the military. Fusawa seems to be acting on his own as of late. I believe he's angry for some reason. Either by his lack of success triggering Yuzuru's inclination to replace him or by the death of his son, I'm not sure. But something is enraging him. He very rarely passes plans through the King and the royal court anymore."

"Meaning that if I warn you of anything it has to come directly from him," Haruhi muttered under her breath, frustration leaking out. Kyoya silently slipped his hand into hers and squeezed, releasing just as quickly as he had gotten hold. She gave him a strange look, not having expected the gesture from him.

"My horse is waiting," Kyoya murmured in explanation.

"Ah." She nodded, feeling something dangerously close to sadness wash over her. "I see. Well…"

"I can show myself out. Remember that you have the ring and I'll be in touch." He then addressed the older man, "Ranka, _at least_one cup of that tea a day. Two or three would be best though. No more than four."

"Ride safely," she mumbled. He gave a sharp nod and shook Ranka's hand in acceptance of the thanks that he received. Then he was out the door and mounting one of three horses that were waiting outside her house. The other two belonged to Kasanoda and Nekozawa. She watched out the window after him until he was out of sight. "Thank God," she finally relaxed against her chair.

Her father seemed amused. "And here I thought you would be sad to see him leave."

"Are you kidding me? He's a great person, but his presence _here_just makes me worried that some military rep is going to come through the door and discover that his supposed lover, Haruhi, is Namahi." She groaned loudly. Her father chuckled. "Seriously, this double – well… now it's triple but _whatever_– life could very well kill me one day!"

Again her father laughed. She glared at him. "You're obviously feeling much better," she grumbled.

"Very," he responded. "Kyoya's a great doctor. I'd say that if he doesn't become Narian King he should leave the royal family all together and practice medicine somewhere."

Haruhi snorted. "Doubt that'll happen."

Yet, deep inside her, she knew that if Kyoya wasn't born royalty, that's probably what he would have done.

**A/N: Well… I finished that rather quickly. Surprisingly quickly actually, considering I'm at the beach right now with one computer to share with my sister and mother. Didn't originally plan to reveal this part of the plot yet, but sometimes plans go out the window. And when I lost the pretty little timeline I made for this story, my plans went with it.**

**Bleh... Excuse the absence of scene breaks. My mother's computer has word and I'm not used to the way it tries to change my double dash into a bullet point. **

**Enjoy this now **_**fully completed **_**chapter. That I **_**slaved over **_**and rewrote in **_**three days**_**. It's ten pages long and about 4300 words long. Have fun. **

**- E.M. Megs**


	22. 20: Calm Before the Storm

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 20 - Calm Before the Storm_

By the time Haruhi managed to force herself to leave her father for camp, she was five days later than she'd originally should have been. As predicted by the twins, General Fusawa wasn't particularly happy about her tardiness. When she was summoned to his tent, she entered stiffly, clearly seeing the anger on his face. "Marioka, you're five days late."

"It's not like I had a choice, sir," she muttered, slightly upset with his anger with her in particular.

"You're one of my most prompt soldiers, Corporal. You're five days late."

She pursed her lips. "Sir, I-"

"I don't want excuses, Marioka," he snapped, "I know very well why you're late. I just hope that being related to Haruhi Fari doesn't affect your judgment any."

"I... don't quite understand what you mean, sir. If you know why I'm late then..." she trailed off, finally catching what he said. "What? Of course it doesn't affect my judgment. I rarely ever see her any other time besides the Festival."

"Seems to be enough for her to worry about your father."

"With all due respect, sir, my cousin worries over all of her relatives, close or otherwise. My father and I happen to be two of her final extended family members. I was ill the last week and she was fretting over me as well," she spat the lie, expertly lacing annoyance in with it.

"And Kyoya Ohtori?"

"Personally, I think he'd make a great king if he had the chance to take the throne without needing to worry about the war. From what I've seen of his views while he was staying in my house, he hates the war, the very idea of it. He and Haruhi are close though. Very." Now, he seemed a little more interested than was comfortable. She could practically see the gears of his brain turning as they formulated a plot against Nari. "Why do you care?"

"He stayed in your house."

"And? Sir, I don't exactly understand what you're getting at." Dread was already pooling in her stomach. She didn't even know what the plan was and she already knew that it wasn't good.

"Who else does he seem to be close to?" She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. The answer was too obvious for her to lie to him about it. She stayed silent. "Someone in his family perhaps? His niece or sister?" She nodded sharply, understanding now why he had specifically assigned her team as security to the Narian royal family. She was supposed to be an informant. She was supposed to tell him who would be best to strike against in order to affect the Narian King. "You're being awfully quiet, Corporal."

"Just thinking sir."

"You're obviously distracted at the moment. Go ahead and return to your tent to get some sleep." She nodded and saluted her way out of the tent, heart pounding. The moment she returned to her tent she grabbed a piece of paper and quill and sent Kyoya a message using the ring.

_Kyoya,  
__increase security especially for Yuki and Fuyumi. Fusawa's planning something but I don't know what. Good luck.  
__-Haruhi_

~o~

When Kyoya arrived home the next day, his sister was waiting. He growled under his breath. Just what he needed. A bored, chatty 28-year-old woman. "Kyoya! You're finally home!" She was way too excited about something, he pushed past her, not at all kindly. He'd been awake for 24 hours straight just to ride home. All he really wanted right now was a hot bath and his bed. "Kyoya? What's wrong?"

He glared at her. "Nothing," he grunted, shaking his head. He didn't really mean to be so harsh on her. He rubbed his temples. "I just... really need to sleep."

"But... I have news. I've been waiting four days for you to come home so I could tell you, Akito, and Yuiichi all together..."

"Fine," he grumbled, "Let's go." Fuyumi clapped a few times in happiness and scurried off, pulling him by the arm behind her. He sighed inwardly. He really needed to work on saying no to her. But somehow, since she was his older sister, he couldn't. Plus, he knew how devious she could be when she wanted or needed to be. She stopped outside Yuiichi's bedroom door and knocked, interrupting the two quarreling voices coming from within. He shot a seething look at Fuyumi as Yuiichi's voice called for them to enter.

"Fuyumi," Yuiichi seemed more than happy to welcome her into his bedroom. His eldest two siblings always had gotten along pretty well. Yuiichi had taken over the protective big brother role even before Fuyumi and Fuko had started courting. Akito didn't greet her, but then again he hadn't ever cooperated well with his sister. "And Kyoya." Yuiichi only seemed slightly surprised to see his youngest brother back.

"Yuiichi, Akito. I trust that everything is in order around here?" Both nodded, Akito with a slight glare.

"Where's Haruhi?" The second youngest asked, still looking at him with the same fire.

"She stayed behind in Kira to take care of her uncle." Akito glowered at the word uncle, probably thinking up all sorts of ways to try and get rid of her. "Even if you managed to find some way to get rid of her, Akito, it wouldn't change the fact that you once tried to go after her as well." A glare bounced off his glasses as he said it.

Fuyumi looked between her three brothers and shook her head, deciding it was time to reclaim attention. She gave Kyoya a hard look, knowing he would be the first to change the subject back to what she had originally come for if she just stared at him long enough. He caught it quickly and stumbled slightly to transfer topics. "Fuyumi had news for us?" He turned a politely expectant look to his sister, though inwardly he was glaring because he being kept from his bed.

She nodded and bit her lips. "Well... Erm..."

"Fuyumi. Out with it," Kyoya growled. Yuiichi shot him a reproachful look for being disrespectful. The younger ignored it.

"There might be a new member to the family in a few months?"

Kyoya blinked, attempting to digest at high speeds when his brain was half-asleep and his blood pressure dangerously low. A new member to the family meant either a marriage or a baby. Fuyumi was already married so that type of news wouldn't be coming from her. That only left...

"You're pregnant?" All three of them asked incredulously at the same time. She giggled and nodded.

"I don't know why you're all so surprised... Fuko and I have been married for 7 years now... Yuiichi was a year younger than I am when Yuki was born."

"Oh God, I'm getting old." Kyoya twitched as Yuiichi's rare melodramatics started coming out. They'd all inherited a little of them from their mother, but his and his brothers' rarely ever showed themselves. "I must be if my little sister's having a baby."

Kyoya scoffed under his breath. "Don't be overdramatic Yuiichi. You're only four years older than her and _she's_ only 28. When _I _started having kids you'll be old." Fuyumi laughed while Yuiichi shot at glare at him. Akito remained indifferent. "Hell... You'll all be old when I start having kids," he added under his breath. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at his giddy older sister. "So, Yuki's going to have competition?"

"Why are you talking about me?" Yuki's voice chimed tiredly, yawning as she rubbed her eyes. Apparently, she'd just woken up from her nap. She wandered over to her father who picked her up silently.

"We were just talking about Auntie Yumi's baby."

"What baby?"

Kyoya, seeing that this conversation was leading to the _'Where do babies come from?' _talk decided it was time to bow out and go to bed before he was nominated to explain it to the five-year-old. He definitely didn't need that when he was practically falling asleep from exhaustion standing up. "Congratulations, Fuyumi," he muttered, kissing his sister's cheek. He hugged Yuki as well while she distractedly asked her father where her aunt's baby was if they were talking about it so much and why she couldn't see this baby.

"Ohhhh! Is it an invisible baby?" Kyoya snickered as he shut the door behind him to Yuki's never ending line of questions. He definitely needed a nap.

~o~

Two weeks of no major happenings and Haruhi was starting to get anxious. There had been no battles, no talk of any plans to come, no one had returned to or left camp to her knowledge, and no messages from Kyoya other than a very brief and irrelevant one stating that Fuyumi was pregnant (she suspected that he was either extremely tired or drunk while he had written it considering he'd spelled his sister's name wrong _and _referred to pregnancy in a very childlike manner). There was no way that this was still aftermath from the Festival. It had to be the calm before the storm, there was no other explanation for it.

She could practically feel it in her bones.

Something big was coming.

Something bigger than she could rank high enough to even get a whiff of.

In her anxiousness, she wrote to Kyoya, knowing that he would have something to say to calm her fears.

_There's... Something coming. But I don't know what it is. It's all quiet here. Nobody's leaving or returning. It's... scary._

She just finished sending it when a Major-General entered her tent with a summons to Fusawa's tent. He looked at the ring she was placing back around her neck with a bit of suspicion. "The hell is that, Corporal? You turning into a little girl?"

"No, sir," she said quickly, "I just want to keep it safe. I'm planning on proposing. Would really be a terrible thing if I lost the ring, don't you think?" He rolled his eyes and flicked his fingers at her to indicate that she should follow him. She was led to the armory, much to her surprise. She looked around, trying to process what she was seeing. Where she had expected a bunch of swords, knives, and other weaponry and armor mounted on shelves surrounded by light, she found instead an empty space with cages eerily similar to ones travelling circuses used to transport animals lined up in the dark. She blinked when she found creatures sitting in them, glaring out at the world.

A shiver ran down her spine while she whispered, "Litriads."

They were the creatures of the Wajima Forest. The reason that parents told their children terrible stories to frighten them into coming home before nightfall. One bite from a litriad shot poison into you, poison that didn't move very quickly through the bloodstream but crept along causing excruciating pain to the tissues it infected. Their claws were sharp as razors, said to be able to slice straight through bone if given the right angle and chance. They were like jaguars, all black, except their fur was coarse and rough, showing patches of leathery skin underneath. They had four legs and a long pointed tail. Two very small arm-like wings that would hardly be able to hold them for more than a minute in the air folded back against their sides. Sharp yellow eyes stared out at the world while glints of protruding fangs threatened death if they were to be released.

Why did the Kiran Army have _litriads _captured and kept alive? They were normally killed on sight because of the dangers they could cause. Questions wove around inside her head, making it hard to think about anything else.

"Ah, Marioka," a voice said from close to the only source of light in the tent. A growling was also being emitted from the same area, raising the question as to what they were doing to the creatures? Seconds after the greeting, the light went out, plunging the tent into darkness again.

"Sir?" she questioned, trying to find her superior officer in the dark. Yellow eyes glowed around her, making her frightened to move in the wrong direction. Someone brushed past her and light flooded the tent for a moment as the flap was pulled back.

"Come with me, Marioka."

She quickly ducked out of the tent, away from the hair-raising creatures being kept there. "Sir," she started as she followed along besides Fusawa, "if you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you doing with them?"

"Training them," he replied swiftly, pushing his way into his tent as he reached it. She still followed, hot on his heels.

"Why?"

"If we train them, we can use them. If not in battle than at least as a way of torture or capture."

The hair on the back of her neck stood up. "Does the royal court approve of this...?"

"They don't have to. It's completely a part of the army. They don't have to approve of the swords and other equipment we receive, such is the same." She was going to reply when he interrupted her thought with a change in subject. "I believe it's about time you returned to Nari." She nodded mutely, unable to speak through her shock about the litriads. "Then you'll leave as soon as possible. You can make it through the woods before nightfall if you hurry. Bring back something I can use."

She pursed her lips, swallowing her words of rebuttal. "Yessir," she said quietly, saluting and leaving the tent once more. She packed her things and after a short farewell to the twins, Hunny, and Mori she headed out.

~o~

When she arrived, she wasn't quite sure if Kyoya had gotten the message that she was on the way. He wasn't in his bedroom, when she'd checked with a visiting Fuyumi, she hadn't known where he was. Neither did Akito or Yuichii, who was chattering excitedly about her auntie's baby. So she did asked the person who knew where he was at all times because it was his job to protect him. "_Frewh ti Kyoya?_"

Kasanoda stood stiff and didn't answer. When she opened her mouth to ask again, he looked at her and replied in a soft voice, "_Iet heondun. Vyro Inesshig edi uno otwa vyo xndo sethe._" She blinked, not quite understanding. Why wouldn't Kyoya want her in the dungeon? Unless he was torturing someone and didn't want her seeing that. She scoffed to herself. He'd threatened her with torture once upon a time and he was trying to protect her now?

She sighed and started off toward the dungeon, where she was sure she would find him torturing some poor Kiran. What she found was worse than she thought. It was a Kiran he was torturing, but he was also furious with him for some reason. What was worse...

The Kiran was her former section leader from boot camp, Sergeant Minas.

She stayed behind a corner watching silently as Kyoya interrogated and tortured the man. There was already blood on the floor and walls, three severed fingers lay on a tray near the table. "Where. Is. She?" Kyoya asked again, bearing down on Minas with a knife held to yet another finger. Minas whimpered but did and said nothing. "I'm getting impatient, maybe I'll skip the rest of your fingers and go straight to your legs." He took a saw off the smaller table next to the fingers and rested the blade on the Sergeant's leg right below the knee. "Tell me where my niece is. Where did they take her?"

Haruhi felt the blood drain from her face as in response to the man's silence, Kyoya started sawing through the flesh of the other man's leg. Yuki had been taken. That's why Kyoya was so furious. Minas screamed so loud that Haruhi had to cover her ears._ 'Christ, I've got to stop him,'_ she thought. The screaming stopped, a leg was added to the tray.

"Where is she dammit!"

"Kyoya!" she called, pretending to be farther away looking for him. She heard him growl and a clatter as the weapon in his hand was dropped onto the side table. She stayed around the corner and followed him after her passed. He stopped at the stairs that led out of the dungeon, a frown on his face. She touched his shoulder, not thinking it was going to surprise him that much. He jumped and spun around, drawing the sword on his belt in a flash. He relaxed again when he realized that it was just her, his frown now even more prominent.

"What the hell are you doing down here, Haruhi?" he growled shortly.

"I would ask you the same thing."

"My job," he answered sourly. She looked down at the front of his blood spattered shirt.

"So that's how you torture... Cutting off limbs. And here I thought that all you did was peel off their skin and hang them." He didn't enjoy her sarcasm. "Where did Minas come from? Why are you torturing him?"

"He broke into the castle..."

"That can't be it. If you're torturing him then there's got to be some other reason. Where's Yuki?" She looked at him knowingly and he growled, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "He won't crack, Kyoya. Kiran soldiers, especially of higher rank, are trained to withstand torture and never ever betray their country." He gave her a look. "I was fresh out of boot camp when I was in here... Don't look at me like that. Besides, Minas would rather die than help you with anything. Now tell me what happened."

He stared at her than murmured, "They broke into the castle..."

"You increased security like I told you to?"

"Yes... But they still got in somehow. It was a fluke. They had to have had an informant... But they broke in and... They took Yuki. The other two. We managed to capture just the one. Yuiichi's worried... All of us are."

She swallowed. There had been one empty cage among the litriads. "… I think I know where she is. But there's no way that you or anyone will be able to get in there."

"Where?" he asked immediately.

"Fusawa's military camp..." she trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing, "In the armory tent... In a cage. Surrounded by litriads..." Haruhi saw Kyoya's face visibly pale. "They're training litriads to fight and torture Narians, Kyoya... And desensitizing them to light too, I think."

"_Iits_," Kyoya muttered under his breath, "_Iits, iits, iits._" It was bad. Especially, if Kyoya was swearing. "They also left this," he mumbled, passing her a note. She looked over it, covering her mouth in thought as she did so.

_Give up or we'll kill her._

~o~

**A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN. This is actually the start of a really big plot point for later... Hurhurhur. Em is sorry that it took so long to finish and update. I was out of town for a while without a computer.**

**Kudos to: TallestBlue, Michiiyu, JUCHKO and Koharu Veddette. Yaaaaay! That's less than normal but I can deal with it... Also... TWENTY CHAPTERS IN. WHOOOOOOO! Maybe I'll be able to finish by 30? I dunno... Kinda skeptical**.


	23. 21: Let Me In

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 21 - Let Me In_

Haruhi stared, unable to make herself turn away. "Give up what?" she muttered, an inkling of an idea sinking into her mind the moment she asked the question.

"The war," Kyoya replied, pushing up his glasses. He seemed a bit calmer, but still had an air of angry ferocity about him. She understood of course. His niece had been kidnapped by her own colleagues. She'd be pissed too. "I don't think they realize that I'm only temporarily King. Ransoming Yuki for an end to the war won't work. If I signed a treaty it would be invalid." He sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair again. "Don't suppose you'll let me hang him..."

She snorted. "He's probably dead from blood loss already considering how long you've left him laying there with no leg." He almost snickered, _almost_. She silently made a mental note to never _ever_ piss him off again. That could have been _her_if she hadn't been careful. She sighed at him exasperatedly and pushed him back toward the cell that Minas was still in, completely quiet now. "Go take care of the damn body while I send a messenger to Kira on your behalf to arrange negotiations."

Haruhi rubbed her forehead after he'd left. Who was going to tell Minas's wife he was dead?

"Goddammit," she mumbled.

~o~

Kyoya made it a point to keep an eye on Yuiichi and not tell him that he knew where Yuki was while he and Haruhi brainstormed ways to get the girl out of there. She didn't want to know what Fusawa might be doing to her, even though her anger flared every time she started to think about. "I could send a team in," Kyoya murmured thoughtfully.

"It'd be a suicide mission. Not to mention it would only show Fusawa that she really is your weak spot." She sat down on the bed where he was lounging and just thought for a moment, going through every conversation she'd had with any of the Kiran higher-ups in the last three weeks. "He probably would have gone after me if I'd been here without knowing that it was his soldier." Kyoya froze up, back stiff as he turned his head to look at her. She didn't look back. "He thinks you're in love with me. Not surprising, really, considering how protective you seemed to be at the ball. Everyone seems to think you're in love with me and I with you." Her heart clenched. She winced slightly, and finally turned around to face him. "I bet if you offered a trade then Fusawa would take it. That way you'd be able to barter for freedom without worrying about getting Yuki hurt."

He looked at her, confused for a moment as to what she was talking about. "Trade who...?" She looked away and he grunted in partial disbelief. "You? Trade you?"

She shrugged her shoulders lightly, still avoiding eye contact. "It'll be easier for you to negotiate if Yuki's out of harm's way... I know it will."

"So you're volunteering yourself instead?"

He wasn't going to let her do it. She could tell. There was no way that he would let her get involved with his family problems. She may have been staying on and off with him for nearly 4 months but that didn't mean anything. The Ohtoris were to private of a family to let anyone else get involved. More specifically Kyoya was too private and Yuiichi and Akito didn't trust her enough to allow her. He gave her a hard look and shook his head, indicating with the same gesture that the conversation would go no further than that.

She sighed. "It doesn't _have_to be me. It could be someone else, you just have to make it seem like you care about them just as much or more than Yuki." She shrugged her shoulders again, not particularly caring if he allowed her to or not. "The messenger should be back by tomorrow night. Until then, we'll just have to wait. And sleep." He nodded, reaching over to blow out the candle on the bedside table while she climbed into bed.

The only thing about Kyoya that was different from the rest of his family was that he didn't let people in not only to protect himself, but to protect other people. She was starting to realize that about him. Where Yuiichi or Akito did it just to keep their weaknesses from showing, Kyoya tended to do it partially for the safety of others. His family was dangerous to be enemies with, but nearly as deadly to be friendly with.

He fell asleep quickly while she gazed at him. "Will you ever let me in?" she breathed, brushing hair out of his face as she settled down.

~o~

The nightmare she had that night was one she had had many times in her childhood. It was one that she swore was an actual memory but her father said she'd been to young to actually remember it. Besides, she hadn't been there for that portion of the take over.

_"Mother? What're you doing here?"_ _She oddly enough recognized her mother's voice. Something that she hadn't heard since she was a baby._

_"To see my granddaughter." Her parents looked at each other, worry filled both of their eyes. Ryoji didn't trust The Witch farther than he could throw her and since marrying him, Kotoko didn't either. To let her see their daughter...?_

_"I don't... think that's proper at the moment, Mother... She's only just fallen asleep."_

_"I'll see her regardless." Kotoko then became distracted by the sounds coming from the open window. She scurried over, staring, appalled at the scene below._

_"No," Ryoji stated firmly, "I won't have you harming her, Witch!" Kotoko looked at her husband firmly, angered slightly at his name for her mother._

_"Who said I was going to harm her, scum?"_

_Kotoko's gaze shot to The Witch, an cry of disbelief falling from her lips. "Mother!"_

_When her eyes turned to ice, a feeling of dread curled over both parents. "He isn't worthy of marrying someone of the Witch line. Though I suppose he's already tainted you. You really aren't worthy keeping around any longer..." Kotoko vanished in a cloud of smoke, her last cry of objection floating uselessly in the air while Ryoji stared at the spot she'd been. "I'll leave you to the Narian army." Ryoji reacted when she passed him, grabbing at her cloak as it dispersed in smoke like his wife had. The Witch reappeared at the top of the stairs. "Your daughter, however, will be cursed!"_

_"No!" Ryoji yelled, fearing more a Witch's curse being put on his daughter than the Witch herself. He raced up the stairs, too slow to do anything about the Witch's form disappearing into baby Haruhi's bedroom._

_She was staring up at her grandmother's face, tilting her head sleepily. When she started speaking, Haruhi started crying. "You, little one, will be cursed to kill any man who falls in love with you. And if you dare love him back, you will perish as well." The baby's light whimpers and sobs became full blown wailing as a finger came down on her forehead. Ryoji barged in just as she vanished in yet another cloud of smoke. Smoke from outside floated past the windows and Ryoji, cradling his daughter to his chest, gazed out it at the Narian soldiers burning everything in sight._

_His kingdom was falling faster than he knew how to act to protect it. "Sir! The castle's defenses are falling! The Narian army is invading!"_

_"Gather Daiichi and his family, we're going to Kira," Ryoji replied softly, with a sad smile. His only thoughts were on keeping his Haruhi safe. "I'll make this up to you, my little girl."_

_Fire engulfed the Moradian flags, sending the country into a sense of destruction it would never recover from._

_She stood in front of two mirrors, gazing at her reflection. In one she saw herself with Kyoya, both of them happy and carefree. In the other, The Witch's graying brown hair and red-brown eyes became a reflection of herself with fire burning in the background..._

Haruhi gasped awake, very nearly screaming but not quite. After realizing there were no mirrors anywhere in the vicinity she calmed enough to notice Kyoya observing her from next to her. She turned to him silently, still feeling the panic from her nightmare filling her. It was a natural occurrence by now, but it still surprised her when his hand slipped into hers in a simple form of comfort. A soft squeeze told her all she needed to know on his part. He'd been woken up by nightmares too, and although she didn't know what his were about, she still felt at ease knowing he was going through the same subconscious torture.

~o~

Kyoya's nightmares followed something of the same path. It was a memory from his childhood that he couldn't help but relive in his dreams. He understood Haruhi's occasional nightmares completely. She'd been through a lot. He'd been through a lot as well, although most people thought that he was too much of a pampered royal boy to be kept up by nightmares in his 20s.

_It always began the same way. A squirmy nine-year-old boy sitting in a carriage with his parents and 14, 16, and 20-year-old siblings. He'd been in there for at least two hours and needed to burn off some energy. His father glanced at him sternly when he wiggled too much but his mother just put her arm around him and fingered his hair lightly. He looked up at her and grinned. She looked back down at him with a small smile._

_A yell from one of the guards outside the carriage sounded, signaling the procession to a complete stop. Kyoya, excited for his first trip into this territory, practically skipped out of the carriage after his father. Fuyumi grabbed hold of his hand and held it tightly, her jaw seemingly on edge. The 9-year-old frowned, not quite understanding exactly why most of his family seemed to be alert and on edge. Even his mother, who held onto his other hand was tense._

_He didn't know why they weren't excited. It was his first time in the Moradian territory. When he opened his mouth to ask his mother, Yoshio shot a quick glare at him that silenced the words before they left his throat. He looked around, for the first time noticing how quiet it was in the streets of the town and the angry faces turned in their direction._

_He tugged on Fuyumi's hand, pulling her down to his level so he could whisper in her ear, "Why are they so angry?"_

_She looked at him sympathetically. "Kyoya... They're Moradians." Kyoya wasn't young enough to not know who Moradians were and what his father and The Witch had done to them. He grew silent, feeling both his mother and sister pull him forward to catch up with the rest of their family. He'd forgotten his excitement along with their reason for being here. They were approaching a building, a castle, except it was smaller than his family's palace, much smaller._

_Now he remembered. His father was here to try and calm the rebel activity in the area. So, in a show of good faith, he'd brought his entire family to stay in a wing of the Moradian castle that still stood. Mayumi squeezed his hand as they entered the building, away from the angry Moradian faces. As customary, an hour later - which felt a lot more like a minute in the dream as it sped through the last moments he spent with his family as a whole - his father gave a speech to the people gathered below the balcony._

_9-year-old Kyoya stood, trying not to fidget, next to Akito, who shot a glare, that threatened abuse if he dared move, at him every few minutes. The four Ohtori siblings were in a line from oldest to youngest slightly behind their parents as Yoshio spoke to the crowd, in Narian with a Moradian translator calling out after each line._

_"I'm sure that the reason for this visit is obvious. I've gotten many complaints from soldiers and residents alike about attacks on Narian citizens. Most of them trying to help those in need here."_

_"We aren't in need, you arse!" someone from the crowd yelled in Moradian, "We live different lives in different cultures!"_

_Another voice, spurred by the others, called, "We don't need help! We need you_out_!"_

_Yet another screamed, "You killed our King!"_

_A roaring sea of Moradian yells started. Kyoya stared at them, trying to pinpoint the people attached to the voices, glancing at his father's calm face, noticing the barely concealed irritation there. He continued as if there were never an interruption. "I extend a request now to the rebel groups attacking these people. Please quit these actions of hate or I will be forced to crush them with force."_

_"You never listen to us! Only them!"_

_"Give us back our country!"_

_And still, Yoshio rolled through the rest of his speech above the noises of protest, "I wish for there to be unity between Moradians and Narians, a unity that isn't there because of the attacks on Narian people in Mora."_

_"They tried to take away our culture and replace it with their own!"_

_Everything started happening in a blur. An arrow shot out of nowhere and hit 20-year-old Yuiichi in the shoulder. He fell to his knees, his hand shooting to the place where he'd been shot. More arrows shot out around them. Yoshio knelt next to his wounded eldest son, worry now plastered on her face just as clearly as his mother's. Fuyumi and Akito both yanked Kyoya out of the path of an arrow that had been heading straight for his chest. Fuyumi started to drag both of her younger brothers back into the safety of the house they were staying in._

_Kyoya turned back, wondering how his parents and Yuiichi were going to make it back inside. He saw a guard helping Yuiichi stumble back inside to a couch. Then he looked past him to his parents, seeing the worst thing possible happen right before his eyes. An arrow was heading towards his father's still-turned back. His mother, also seeing it, pushed Yoshio out of the way and took the full force of the shot in the chest._

_He'd never heard his father yell in anguish before._

He always gasped awake when Yoshio's yells started. He knew what would come next. Mayumi would ignore her own pain and instead fret over her injured son. Yoshio would repeatedly tell her to stop and rest, he'd take care of Yuiichi. The arrow that hit his mother hadn't hit anything incredibly vital, but the blood loss weakened her enough that it seemed like she wouldn't make it for a while. Then she started recovering slowly a day or two later. Enough to travel home again anyway.

And then, without warning, she was plunged back into her injury, becoming so sick and being in so much pain that it nearly made his stoic father cry.

And with her family crowded around her bed - her youngest son lying next to her with his head buried in her stomach, begging her silently to hold on while she stroked his hair - Mayumi would pass away. A doctor would then tell them that the arrow that hit her had been tipped with a poison that they hadn't caught before it was too late. Yoshio would lock himself in his office and mourn for his wife away from the prying eyes of his children while Yuiichi held down the fort, Fuyumi held Kyoya close, and Akito stared hatefully out the window.

That day had been the day that his father had started to hate the Moradian people as a whole. When he'd started persecuting and hanging them mercilessly, trying in vain to find the one that had shot the arrow that had killed his wife. That day was the reason that the last remaining Moradians lived in hiding or had moved to Kira. That day was the reason his father had stopped caring for his family openly.

That day was the sole reason that Kyoya just wanted what his mother had always wanted - a peaceful continent with no war.

~o~

Haruhi and Kyoya had just finished eating dinner the next day when Yuiichi came barging into their bedroom shaking a paper in her face. "If you have _anything_to do with my daughter's kidnapping, I'll have you killed. Personally," he hissed, becoming someone that nearly scared Kyoya. The eldest Ohtori was never this vicious. Most of the time he never expressed his anger to the person's face.

Haruhi merely stared at him blankly. "I assure you, I had nothing to do with it, Your Highness." Kyoya snatched the paper from his brother with slight irritation, reading through the text.

"It says we should meet them on the border city _Lingmar._And they aren't willing to negotiate." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "'Sign the surrender or watch her die.'" Haruhi sighed under her breath, thinking at a mile a minute.

"I'm going," Yuiichi said, gritting his teeth.

"No you aren't," Kyoya shot back, "You're way too emotional about this entire thing. You aren't going because you might do something rash."

"She's my _daughter_, Kyoya!" the elder's voice rose till he was close to yelling, "She's the only thing I have left!"

Kyoya hated seeing his eldest, strongest, brother like this. Like he was barely holding on to life. He had a feeling that if Yuki died, he'd die of a broken heart. "This is why you're staying. I have a plan. And I will get her back. Safely. Haruhi and I will go and meet the Kiran General-"

"She's not going anywhere _near_Yuki."

"She has knowledge of how the Kiran army works, specifically how Fusawa's mind works. She can help me make a decision and compromise with them. Obviously any treaties that I make with them will be invalid because I'm only a temporary King. So, I will assure them of this fact, make some other kind of deal, and bring Yuki home. Worst case scenario, they kill all three of us, but I doubt that will happen." Yuiichi looked broken. Haruhi felt her heart crack looking between them. "If I have to... I'll trade myself for her and Haruhi will bring her home."

Haruhi's shot to his face. "Like _hell_you will!" she exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing.

Kyoya turned his gaze to her. "_If I have to_," he repeated in a strained voice. "It may not be necessary if the damn Kiran General is being reasonable."

She shook her head, turning away from him to go give the order to get their horses ready. Fusawa was never reasonable with Narians. And he was rarely civil. More so after she'd delivered the news that his son had died. Someone was going to end up hurt during this entire ordeal.

~o~

She wore a wig, as she had to the ball, just to disguise her when they met with the Kiran authorities. Haruhi rode close to Kyoya. Kasanoda and Nekozawa rode in front of them while two other guards by the names of Tachibana and Hotta rode behind them. She glanced at Kyoya's set jaw. And reached over precariously to take and squeeze his hand. He looked over at her. "Everything will be fine," she said, just barely loud enough to be heard over the clapping of horse hooves.

He grimaced and pulled his hand out of hers as they approached _Lingmar_. "I hope so," he murmured.

A team of Kiran soldiers was already there, waiting for them. Haruhi caught a glimpse of brown hair somewhere within a circle of five soldiers. She also noticed that Fusawa was nowhere to be seen. Kyoya dismounted, quickly followed by her and the four guards.

Cocky Major-General Larsen left the group of five and approached them. "Well, well, didn't think you'd actually show your face here Ohtori." He turned his gaze toward Haruhi at that moment. "And I didn't expect you to bring your gorgeous woman either." He stroked a finger along Haruhi's cheek in a manner that made her flinch. Kyoya took her by the hand and pulled her behind him quickly, narrowing his eyes at the opposing soldier.

"I don't believe we've met," Kyoya hissed.

"Oh. Protective little bastard, aren't you?" Larsen taunted with a slight sneer. Haruhi felt Kyoya discreetly take a deep breath to calm himself. "Major-General Andres Larsen." He didn't hold his hand out for a shake. Kyoya didn't offer to either.

"Hand over my niece," Kyoya growled, barely containing his urge to pull out a sword and fight someone for her.

"So you agree to surrender?"

Kyoya's upper lip tilted in a sneer. If this man was going to be impolite, he may as well give him the same treatment. "You stupid Kirans don't get it. Any surrender or treaty signed by me would be invalid. I'm not proper King, only temporary until my father is able to regain control of his kingdom. I can, however, make an alternate deal in exchange for Yuki's freedom."

"Yuki, eh? That's that little brat's name." He made some sort of motion with his hand that signaled his men to move aside and show Yuki's disheveled appearance. She looked like she was about to burst into tears but held strong. Haruhi looked away from the sight while Kyoya's face went blank. "Unfortunately, I'm under strict orders not to release her under anything less than full surrender."

"Unfortunately, as I've stated before, surrender is not exactly an option that I'm able to carry out."

"Then you can watch her die."

Images from her most recent witching dream flashed quickly through her head as a knife raised to slice the five-year-olds throat. Yuki let out a cry. Kyoya jerked forward a step, preparing to draw his sword and drive it into Larsen's gut as well as every other soldier there.

"Stop!" Haruhi gasped, pushing her way past Kyoya before he could stop her. "She's five. Just... take me. Let her go and take me." Larsen held up a hand, signaling the stop to Yuki's murder. She felt Kyoya's eyes burning into the back of her head.

"Haruhi, get back here."

"No."

Larsen rose an eyebrow at her defiance.

"Haruhi!"

"I'm not going to watch her die and I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself!" she snapped back at him, staring him hard in the eye. Kyoya was slightly shocked, but wouldn't let it show as he watched the two soldiers holding Yuki shove her forward and yank Haruhi's arms behind her instead.

"It's the same terms, Ohtori. Surrender or watch the woman you love die." She could tell by his silence that he was angry with her as he picked up a sobbing Yuki and held her close. Then he handed her gently to Tachibana and ordered him to go back to the palace with her. He also sent a message to her father with Tachibana. Kyoya turned back toward them. She could practically see the gears in his head turning as he tried to work out how he was going to get her out of this. "Perhaps you need some incentive to decided quickly?"

Larsen nodded his head and she instantly felt a knife slicing deep into her arm before she could even prepare herself. She cried out in surprised pain. The knife left. She stared down at her bleeding arm with a look of shock, feeling tears pooling at the back of her eyes as it started to burn. She shot a quick look at the knife that had cut her, her face paling incredibly.

It was magically enhanced to bring torturous pain to the person cut with it. She could tell by the golden edge. She took a deep breath and waited for it to start.

Her cut flesh literally started to burn. Her arm shook as pain from the burns shot up her arm. Any minute the fire that was being contained into the cut would overflow and start attacking the rest of her arm. Unwillingly, tears started to race down her face while she tried not to scream. Kyoya stared, somehow unable to tear his eyes away as flames started to lick out of the cut and spread onto the surrounding skin.

"I can give you the Eastern Tip back," Kyoya said quickly.

"It's a start," Larsen stated, "But not quite enough." Fire spread to the palm of her hand, sinking in quickly and grabbing hold of a sensitive tendon. She screamed. Kyoya nearly winced himself, the harsh sound cutting into his eardrums. "If you don't act soon, her entire body will be inflamed."

The Ohtori looked torn as he thought a mile per minute. "I can give you back the Eastern Tip and give you the names of Narian spies."

Larsen paused, looking thoughtful then he nodded. "Names now while we draw up a land surrender." He didn't mention or signal anything to make the fire in Haruhi's arm stop. At this rate, her entire arm would burn up before he could get a chance to sign anything.

"No. Stop the fire right now or no names," he said with a slight growl. Larsen rose an eyebrow and muttered a spell under his breath, pointing a finger at Haruhi. Instantly, the fire dispersed, leaving brown, dead patches of skin along her arm. Kyoya bit off a list of names quickly before he had the chance to speak again. "Wari, Mimimoto, Choi, Kawaso. You'll get the rest when I actually have her on a horse."

Larsen grabbed Haruhi and shoved her toward him. He caught her, being careful of her hurt arm, keeping her close. She gripped at the front of his shirt, willing herself to stop the tears still trailing down her cheeks. A paper and quill were shoved at Kyoya. He took the quill, read over the paper quickly and signed, glowering at the Major-General the entire time. The Narian pushed her gently toward a horse and let Nekozawa help her up. He spat out another three names and turned toward his own horse. "Hasar, Childs, Wayter." He mounted while Larsen stared at him.

"That's it?"

"I never said I'd give you all of them." He nodded at Nekozawa and Kasanoda. They spurred their horses forward, herding Haruhi's horse with them. Hotta stayed behind with Kyoya for a few moments. "Besides, those are all the spies that I'm aware of." He took off on his horse without another word, Tachibana hot on his heels.

~o~

**A/N: Surprise ya? Not me. Of course... I also knew what was going to happen. And I had it written mostly out on my netbook... Before it went KERSPLAT. Sob. Anywho~ Success is mine! Muwhahaha! I got this finished before I left for another week long vacation! Hah! And it's almost 10 pages long~ And I need to go do my summer homework now...**

**Kudos to: NoGoodDeed14, Nessie-san, The Phantom Devil, and Koharu Veddette!**


	24. 22: Safety

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 22 - Safety_

Kyoya stopped the five of them in a small town as soon as they had ridden far enough away from the border that they wouldn't be followed. Dawn was starting to break. His temper was going to be worse than normal. He dismounted near a lodge. "Shouldn't we just keep riding home?" she asked him. He didn't answer. Shit, he really was angry with her this time. "Kyoya?"

"I'm not going any farther until I have a good meal in my stomach," he grumbled. The lodge was obviously already open and getting ready for business. He strode in, ignoring her once more to get food for his small party. "Biscuits and gravy alright?" She nodded, hearing three other murmurs of assent. She waited outside with the three guards as he ordered five plates of biscuits and gravy from a very shocked woman behind the counter. Apparently, she hadn't been expected a Narian Prince to walk through her door. "You three can wait inside," he said quietly to the other men. They obeyed quickly. He turned to her after the door had closed. "What were you thinking?"

"That if we didn't get Yuki out of there, then she was going to die."

"No, Haruhi. What were you thinking when you let them take you?"

"It's better that you bargain for a life when it isn't your niece's. She wouldn't get hurt that way."

"Were you thinking about yourself? Were you thinking about what that would put _me _through? Were you thinking that there was the possibility that they might torture you? No you weren't."

"Kyoya I-"

"I _knew _the moment that they took you that they were going to find some damn reason to torture you just so that they would make me make a hasty decision."

"You didn't have to free me!"

He stopped like she'd hit him in the face with a 2x4. A glare came over his glasses. She felt a chill come over her entire body as he hissed furiously, "Friends don't do that." Her stomach dropped. Dammit, she'd never meant to make him upset with that sort of implication. "You obviously weren't thinking. Though I'm surprised they didn't _kill _us both."

"How was I not thinking?" she asked, seething in her own way. "Yuki's safe! That was the whole purpose of us com-!"

"They tortured her!" Haruhi froze mid-sentence, feeling sick to her stomach. "I saw the burns on her arms. Much smaller than the ones you got, but still there. They tortured her for some kind of information that she probably doesn't even have. That's how I knew they were going to torture you." He was breathing heavily as he stared at her with fiery eyes behind his glasses. He grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her toward him. She winced, feeling tears building up in the back of her eyes as pain shot up her arm. He still held tightly to it as he pushed it up to her eye level. "These won't heal before you go back to Kira."

"So I'll hide them. I'll wear long sleeves."

A bark of harsh laughter left his lips. "It's almost summer, Haruhi. No one wears long sleeves in summer unless they want to burn up. You weren't thinking of this-" he shook her arm, she cringed, "-when you decided it would be a good idea to give yourself up. You may as well have turned yourself in to be hanged."

She pursed her lips, hating him at that moment in time for everything that he was saying and doing. "Will you let go of my arm now? It's actually quite painful and it doesn't make it any better when you're holding it like that," she asked quietly. He released her with a look of contempt.

"I knew I should have left you at the palace."

This time, she laughed. "What? And leave me as prey to your brothers? I'm sorry that I acted on instinct, but _that _was what happened in my Witching Dream and I wasn't about to let it come true in even the slightest sense of the idea. Even if I got hurt, it doesn't matter to me because she's safe."

He pursed his lips and turned toward the window where he could see his guards being served their meal. He didn't speak to her again as he let himself back into the lodge to eat. She followed slowly behind.

~o~

By the time they reached the palace, both Haruhi and Kyoya were exhausted. And Haruhi was getting fed up with being ignored by the Narian royal. She stopped her horse right outside the gate and stared at the back of his head until he turned and looked at her. He stared at her, as if trying to get her to keep going purely by looking at her in a slightly threatening manner. He turned his horse back around and headed back toward her, waving the three guards on in the process.

"Stop shutting me out," she muttered in a low voice, glaring at him.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Haruhi," he replied with a slightly icy edge.

"_Buwoshybrar_, you don't know what I'm talking about!" she hissed, "You haven't spoken to me since we left the inn." He opened his mouth but she cut him off. "I understand that you're angry about what I did. But I still think you're overreacting. Yuki's safe and that's the entire reason that we went."

"I'm not shutting you out because of that."

"I don't care why you're doing it. Just stop. You're putting me at arms length so that I won't get too close to you or your family. You're pushing me away where you previously tried to get me closer. Stop contradicting yourself." She looked away from the angered look in his eye.

"I'm not-"

"Yes you are. Don't you even dare deny it. You don't want your family getting too cozy with me because then they might discover secrets that would be dangerous for them to know."

"I don't want you hurt."

"I understand that," she murmured gently, "But that doesn't mean that you have to be such a prick about it."

He pursed his lips, unable to retort due to all the emotions bouncing around inside of him. He decided it was best to ignore her for now and navigated his horse around her carefully. The annoying part was: She did nothing to stop him.

~o~

The moment Haruhi saw Yuki she dropped the small bag she'd previously been holding as the 5-year-old jumped into her arms and buried her face in her neck. It was what she expected a reunion between a mother and daughter to look like. Except Haruhi wasn't Yuki's mother. She wasn't even related to her in the slightest. Surprise caused her to catch the small girl, holding her as close as she possibly could without hurting herself. Kyoya looked back at them while, further down the hall, Yuiichi looked at them too once finding his daughter in safe hands. "Yuki," Haruhi murmured, "Yuki, Yuki Yuki." Her uncle kept walking, turning straight into his room.

"I'm happy you're okay," Yuki mumbled.

"So am I," she replied quietly, carrying the girl toward her father and carefully placing her back in the older man's arms. The 20-year-old pressed a kiss to the forehead of the girl and nodded at Yuiichi.

"Thank you," Yuiichi muttered to her. She merely nodded. His eyes trailed down to where her arm were hurt. "I can heal that for you after Yuki goes to bed in an hour."

"That would be nice since Kyoya's..." She shook her head, glancing briefly back at the room that she shared at him. "He just... Doesn't agree with what I did. He's angry with me." One look from the oldest Ohtori sibling showed that she no longer had to worry about having problems with him, for which she was glad of.

"Sometimes... It isn't worth trying to reason with him because eventually he'll reason it out all on his own." Yuiichi sighed all the same though and added, "He's a smart man. He'll figure it out."

She nodded mostly to herself and asked, "How's your father?"

He shrugged but didn't provide an answer. At that moment Fuyumi appeared at the end of the hall, having been called to the Narian palace for Yuki. The little girl kicked her way down from her father's arms and straight out ran to her, yelling, "Auntie Yumi!"

"Yukima Ria Ohtori!" Fuyumi scolded lightly, "Why would you go missing like that and scare the crap out of your father?"

Yuki scowled at the use of her full name, to which Haruhi chuckled a bit. "It wasn't _my _fault," she scoffed, "And you know I _hate _being called Yukima."

Haruhi, with a small smirk, turned away from the Aunt-Niece duo and turned her attention back to Kyoya's oldest brother. "Your father?"

Yuiichi swallowed. "He's... healed. Physically anyway. He's still in a coma though. Dunno when he'll recover from that. Could be days, could be years..." She nodded, looking away from him. For the sake of the Ohtori family, she hoped that it wouldn't take years for Yoshio to come out of the darkness. His three sons were all strong, but she wasn't completely sure they could hold a country as big as Nari together through a war in their patriarch's absence without turning against each other. "Akito may walk again though if he keeps up his therapy."

"No one actually told me... what happened to both of them. The specifics I mean."

Yuiichi stared at her, searching for something. After several moments he finally spoke in a quiet low voice, obviously to keep Yuki from hearing. "Akito was stabbed in the lower spine, slicing his spinal cord but not severing it, thank God. He also had a few other bruises and contusions. For some reason that I can't seem to figure out his entire upper body was also in pain for weeks, most likely caused by a few blows to his head." He took deep breath. "Father was stabbed several times in the torso. Hit at least 3 times in the head, probably more which is the most probable cause of the coma."

Haruhi winced involuntarily at this bit of news. She looked away from Yuiichi, back toward where Yuki was chattering the head off of her aunt. "She's a chatterbox," Yuiichi muttered, "Just like her mother." She glanced back at him just in time to see the look of anguish and pain on his face before it disappeared beneath his façade. The way that he easily shifted his outward appearance to appear completely fine reminded her of the way Kyoya guarded himself. A thought flitted through her head for a brief moment.

"I'm... sorry about your wife. I tried..." she struggled with her words for a moment but Yuiichi waved her off.

"If I couldn't save her then there's no way that you could have." He turned back toward his bedroom, motioning her with a single beckoning finger to follow him while his daughter was being distracted by his sister. She obeyed his motion tentatively, looking back at Fuyumi and Yuki a moment before ducking her head the rest of the way in. He took her left arm in her hands gently, trying not to upset the burns. He examined her arm carefully. The browning blistered skin glared back at him. "_Frigus. Cruor Tela,_" he whispered under his breath, starting the basics of the healing process. The sharp tingling in her skin from the burns subsided after a few minutes of the cooling spell. She sighed under her breath with relief. Now all that was left was the scalded tissue surrounding the cuts. Yuiichi hummed under his breath. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing. "I think I'll need to remove some of the tissue," he muttered under his breath mostly to himself. He released her arm long enough to stride across the room and pick up a pair of glasses and a small knife from his nightstand. He placed the glasses on his nose and concentrated with the knife in his hand.

She stared at the knife, forcing herself not to feel anything as he gently slid the knife into the cut and turned just enough to slice under the puffed up dead brown skin. She winced a bit as he cut around the browned area and pulled the thin slice of skin off the underlying burned tissue. It was raw and red. Yuiichi even flinched at the sight of it but still nodded to himself, whispering more healing spells under his breath as he wrapped her arm with a bandage similar to the one she'd seen on Yuki's arms.

"There you are," he murmured, looking up from admiring his handy work at her face. "Just be sure not to bump it too much and come see me if it starts bleeding or burning again."

"Thanks, Yuiichi," she mumbled, pulling her arm out of his grasp gently.

"Off to bed with you. The best thing for that arm will be rest. Speaking of which, I should get Yuki to bed." Haruhi nodded quietly, bowing her head to him in thanks as she took her leave. "And Haruhi..." She turned back slightly. "I meant what I said about Kyoya reasoning things out by himself. If I were you... I wouldn't even try to talk to him tonight."

"Thank you," she murmured again, exiting just as an excited Yuki brushed past her. She was exhausted and was almost positive that Kyoya would already be asleep, or at least she hoped he was. She didn't _want _him to be awake when she entered his bedroom. Unfortunately, the Gods weren't on her side. She could just vaguely make out Kyoya's shape standing on the balcony through the gap in the curtains. Other than that, the room was dark. She walked over to the balcony doors, silently watching him from the open doors. There was something about his form standing there, shoulders squared and eyes turned toward the ground below, that seemed strained.

She didn't say anything, just stood there and tried to put her finger on what might be wrong.

"I've lived here my entire life." His voice startled her as well as his movement when he turned to face her. She could barely make out his eyes behind his glaring spectacles but when she caught sight of them she felt something inside of her jump. He continued speaking after staring at her for several moments, "I've lived here my entire life, but I never realized how... horrifying this country is as a whole." He stopped, seemingly thinking through his words carefully. "And... My father's at fault for all of it." She could now fully see everything he was thinking in his eyes, the haunting memories, the stress, his disgust and frustration, everything. She took a soft step toward him. "My family's not even a family. We haven't been since my mother died. Father only talks to us when it's beneficial to himself or the kingdom. Akito's distanced himself so far from Fuyumi and I that sometimes I can't even see him. Fuyumi lives in another goddamn _country_. And Yuiichi's just... I don't even know anymore. Sometimes he's my best friend and other times I wonder if he hates me."

She remained quiet as he finally let out his frustrations on her. "And then there's you." A bitter kind of laugh fell from his mouth, causing her hopes of anything good to drop. "And you, Haruhi Fujioka are an enigma. A goddamn enigma." He didn't say anything else on the matter, just turned away from her, back toward the town lights below like nothing had ever happened. She almost felt like she had been insulted until his shoulders dropped a bit and a hand lifted to his face. The quickly shifting emotions he was showing her scared her slightly. He was never this emotional with her. She felt a tug on her heartstrings and clamped down on all emotions immediately.

Finally, after thinking about everything he had said she allowed herself to speak. "Kyoya?" He turned only slightly, indicating that he was listening to her. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?" He still didn't look at her, something that bugged her slightly. She didn't answer and he sighed a bit wearily. "Haruhi, you've become a very dear friend to me. My only one, now that I think about it. The thought of losing that friendship startles me, quite frankly." Now he did turn to look at her, his eyes still showing everything she was thinking. "I understand your actions, but I don't want your loyalty to me to put you in danger like that ever again. Are we clear?" She swallowed down the nausea that was starting to form in the pit of her stomach and nodded. His hands landed on her shoulders, his eyes staring into hers with a strict look, now restraining his emotions and hiding them from her view. "If I say that I'll take care of something - especially that has to do with _my_ family - then trust that I'll take care of it and leave it alone."

Haruhi nodded again, feeling numb as she made the promise. "Okay... But trust me to disobey if it violates something I believe in."

He chuckled and let his head bob in agreement. "Fair enough." He nudged her back inside gently and she gladly obeyed in favor of curling up in bed and going to sleep with his comforting and not angry presence next to her.

~o~

She was falling. Hard and fast, falling. Through the dark and unable to see where exactly it was she was falling _to_. Her arm stretched out and suddenly, something grabbed at her. She drew back quickly, a shudder passing through her as her skin tingled from the cold touch. A light turned on somewhere high above, barely reaching the depths that she had reached. She hit the bottom and coughed slightly as the hit rattled her body. She looked around from where she was laying. A skeleton, it's dead black eyes staring straight at her lay next to her. She suppressed a scream of horror. When it shifted slightly and opened it mouth she gasped. The voice that came from it's throat mimicked Kyoya's almost identically as it formed her name, "Haruhi."

It was then that she realized that it was lying in a pool of blood.

"No!" she yelled.

"Haruhi! Dammit! Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open, staring up into Kyoya's own onyx ones. His fingers gripped her wrists tightly, his legs spread to straddle her. He looked down at her worriedly while she blinked away after images of her nightmare. "You were having a nightmare," he murmured, loosening his grip. "And thrashing quite violently." She gazed up at him. His hands were cold, like the touch of the thing in her dream that had touched her while she was falling.

She shuddered and turned her eyes away from him. "God," she muttered under her breath, "Why does this always happen to me?" He looked at her for a moment with something lingering in his eyes before carefully climbing off of her. She grabbed hold of his hands and used them to hoist herself into sitting position. He still knelt on the mattress next to her, eying her like she might attack him at any moment. Her hands tightened around his for a moment as the skeletal voice shrank into her ears. Carefully, he pulled her towards him. He didn't even want to know what it was about. She let her head fall to his shoulder, feeling her fear build up for a split second before she broke it back down.

"It was just a dream," he told her quietly. She shook her head and shushed him. "Haruhi." Her eyes turned to his, blinking several times. "It was only a dream."

"I fell," she whispered, "I fell down a hole right into the arms of death itself." She stopped and let her eyes trail away from him for just a second before coming back to his. "And you were death... Or... it sounded like you."

He shook his head. "It was just a dream, Haruhi." Helplessly, she felt tears running down her cheeks despite all of his reassurances. It angered her when she realized that she couldn't stop them from falling. "Haruhi," he sighed, shifting his position and pulling his hands from hers to hold her face in his hands gently. He pulled her face up even though she was trying to hide it from him, making her stare at him. "It was a dream. Nothing more. Only... A dream."

Her tears began to stop and her arms wrapped around him, tugging her close to him. One of his hands held the back of her head while the other gently rubbed circles in her back, like he used to do with Yuki when she was smaller than she was now. And that's what it felt like. Sometimes he felt as though Haruhi was a child and he was her protector. He wanted to keep her safe, even in her nightmares.

She interrupted his thoughts when she pulled away, coughing to cover up her embarrassment. "Better?" he murmured.

"Yes."

"Good." He shifted his weight off of his legs and pulled them out from under him, swinging them to the side of the bed and standing. He grabbed a robe off the wall and shoved his feet into a pair of slippers. "You put entirely too much weight on your dreams, Haruhi," he muttered, walking back toward the bed. She scoffed and glared up at him. "I understand that you are a Witch and as such have premonitions, but that doesn't mean that all of your damn dreams are such. Ones like this, you should know aren't real because it's not even plausible." She sighed and her shoulders wilted slightly, her legs falling off the edge of the bed and feet hitting the floor with a dull thud. "I'm going to breakfast. Join me if you wish."

She watched him go, feeling the formality of his words strike her. Even after everything he had said a few nights ago, he was still pushing her away. It was only slight, but she could still feel it that spreading distance threatening to gobble her up. He spoke formally as a way to scare people away. But she wasn't frightened, more annoyed.

She couldn't trust him as long as he was pushing her away, keeping things from her. And that was why she was determined to put a stop to it.

~o~

**A/N: My E key and space bar are on the fritz. Ignore any missing Es and/or spaces, please. Though I think I went through and caught them all. And excuse me as I bow before you and beg forgiveness. I really didn't mean to take this long.. And I'm taking writing time out of my NaNo novel to finish this. So... I'm sorry! I'm also really sorry that this is shorter than it normally is. I ran out of juice as I do a lot in November it seems... Blargh. Writing brain is too stretched for this. When I'm working on my novel I want to write something else, when I'm working on this I want to work on my novel. NOTHING WORKS. **

**IB is bad for you... Don't do it. It's AP on steroids, if you don't know what that is either GOOD. I don't even remember WHY I'm testing in History and English. And being a senior is tough shiz. I have senioritis. Seriously. And it's totally a legit word since Word isn't trying to correct it. Wooooow. **

**Happy Thanksgiving to all in the US! I'm vegetarian now so I won't be joining you in merry turkey eating, but I'll definitely be thanking the world for everything that I have. **

**Ramble, ramble, RAMBLE. **

**OKAY. NOW MORE IMPORTANT THINGS. I AM NOT HIGH/ADD **_**I SWEAR**_**. **

**Kudos to~: Twinklefeather, BlackRose, Magpie09, JUCHKO, Toffee-Pixie, Obsessed Dreamer, Mrs. Ootori43ver, AnonymousKyoyaFan, hannachan, NoGoodDeed14, XxNightShroudxX, Nessie-san. **

**JEE-BUS. JEEEEEE-BUSSSSSSS. You guys make me cry with joy. For real. Not joking. Not even a little. I was typing out that list... And I literally started crying. **

**(Oh boy... Ignore this... high sounding author's note, I'm in pain... and it's late even though it's only 8:30. Doh... I need sleep.)**


	25. 23: Trying

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 23 – Trying_

He'd lost her again. Or rather, she'd managed to get away from him again so that she _could _et lost in the Narian royal palace. It wasn't very hard to do, especially if you were unfamiliar with the place. Haruhi might think that she knew her way around, but in reality she'd only actually ever been in one _wing _of the huge place. There were three others.

It was rather troublesome for him to have to come find her for every meal. It was like she'd suddenly gotten tired of his company and no longer wished to hang around him.

For some reason, that bothered him even more.

This time it was dinner and he had wanted to check on her injuries beforehand. They had seemed to be healing just fine the last time he checked, but he'd rather make sure.

Good lord... When did he get so paranoid?

He shook his head and quickly blamed it on her recent nightmares. Finally, he walked into his father's library and caught sight of her brunette head of hair over the top of a chair. The slight knot in his stomach went away. He didn't bother calling out to her. Chances were she had already sensed his presence and knew that he was here. When he was just behind her, he heard her sigh. In her lap was a rather large history book, the page opened to the one with her family portrait. He rounded the chair and knelt down on one knee in front of it so he could see into her face.

Were those... Tears?

"Haruhi?" he murmured in question.

"It's funny how you can miss someone you never really knew." She didn't elaborate. Merely shut the book and set it aside, breathing a heavy sigh and looking at him. He rose an eyebrow, thinking over her statement. Then he nodded a bit and stood up, holding out a hand to her.

"It is. But it shouldn't bring you down. Come," he said softly. "We have something to talk about after dinner."

Curiously, she put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet and away toward the dining room downstairs.

~o~

After dinner, Kyoya didn't let her slip away. She tried, sure, but she didn't succeed. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he caught her hand right before she could escape up the stairs. He tugged her back toward him. "I told you that we had something to talk about." He glanced back into the dining room where his brothers were both seated. Akito glared slightly while Yuiichi paid no attention.

He looked back at Haruhi and she was smiling just a little to herself. He didn't ask just intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled her out of the dining room, down the hall that led to the courtyard and finally to the stables. She opened her mouth to speak as he took a saddled horse from one of the stalls, patting it on the muzzle a bit, but just ended up closing it again without trying to voice her question. He helped her up on the horse then climbed up behind her himself.

"Why couldn't I just ride on my own horse?" she muttered with a bit of irritation.

"Because this way I can make sure you won't run away," he replied in her ear as he steered the horse out the gate. She shifted uncomfortably and he suppressed a chuckle. "You aren't getting uncomfortable around me, are you Haruhi?"

"No," she squeaked. His arms hugged her around the waist as he controlled the reins of the horse that was taking them to their destination. "Where are we going that we need a horse to get to?"

"You'll see."

"Kyoya," she sighed, "I don't like surprises."

"It's nothing bad, I assure you. It's just a bit far out of walking distance." He spurred the horse into a canter grunting, "Hold on." A minute later the horse was going at a full gallop. When he stopped them again 20 minutes later, Haruhi looked like she was about to be sick. "Horseback riding doesn't agree with you it seems," he commented lightly as he dismounted.

"Apparently," she retorted, "not at that speed." Then she looked around them and Kyoya did as well. It was a small garden, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Stones were placed throughout the entire hillside, in fact. Her mouth turned down in a frown and then she realized.

They were in a graveyard.

She whirled around to face him immediately. Kyoya tried not to smirk at her surprise. "Why are we in a graveyard?" she asked a bit cautiously.

"Don't act like I'm about to kill you and bury you here, Haruhi," he murmured, pacing among the headstones until he came to the one he was looking for. "This is the Narian royal family graveyard." He squatted next to the particular stone he'd stopped in front of. "And this... is my mother." He took her hand and pulled her down next to him carefully.

"Why... Why'd you bring me?"

He shrugged. "She died 12 years ago today. I haven't been here in about 3 years and... I didn't want to be alone when I did come. I would have liked for you to meet her in person, but that's not possible, so... This is the closest I have." She squeezed that hand that he still had hold of, an indication that she understood. "I... I do trust you, Haruhi. I hope you realize that. I just don't want you getting caught up in my family's... issues, to put it delicately. It's not exactly the safest thing to do, getting involved with them."

"I know," she murmured. "You're protective. Though why, I'm still not exactly sure. I can take care of myself." She sighed and retracted her previous statement. "No... I know a possibility of why. But I know that you'll do your best not to let that happen."

Kyoya didn't ask what she meant. He already knew. Her curse. His growing affections for her that were becoming harder to suppress and ignore, even for him. He turned his eyes to her, meeting her chocolate brown orbs. "My mother believed that emotions and affections couldn't be restrained," he said softly, trying not to scare her while also trying to convey his message. "I'm starting to think she may have been right."

The look in her eyes changed drastically and if he didn't know any better he would have thought that he heard her heart speed up. "What I'm saying is it's possible that I might try my very hardest to stop from falling in love with you, but the chances are that no matter how hard I do try, it will still happen." He didn't say that he thought that he had already started to. No need to scare her any further.

"So...?"

His mind transferred a memory back into the present for him. Of an earlier conversation with his eldest brother.

"_Kyoya, you know that he wants you to marry by the time you're 22."_

"_I know that. But does it matter if he's asleep? Do I still have to do his absolute bidding even while he's in that damn coma and I'm acting as King? When I have no idea what that bidding might even be?"_

"_Regardless... He'll expect that if Haruhi's still here by the time he wakes up that you're either engaged to her or planning on being engaged very quickly."_

He shook his head, bringing himself out of it rather quickly. "So," he murmured, "I think that it's reasonable for me to ask you to think about accepting to be my wife." She stood sharply.

"You shouldn't ask those things, Kyoya."

"I was merely requesting that you think about it. There's no need for you to worry about answering now. What we should be worrying about is a way to end this war." He stood slowly as well.

"I'm a lost Moradian princess living as a Kiran soldier, Kyoya. I can't just... marry a Narian Prince."

"As I said. No need to answer now. That was for the future, possibly after we find a way to end the war." He sighed. He really hadn't meant to frighten her or anything. Though he supposed that he should have thought a bit more about her other reaction before he asked her to marry him. As for ending the war, he had thought about it quite a few times but he was missing bits of information here and there. The exact reasons for it starting. His father's aims when it began. All of the internal war workings of Kira.

He was smart. But even he couldn't solve a problem with that much missing information.

He turned his thoughts back to Haruhi and sighed inwardly. They needed to talk about this problem... But not at his mother's grave. He strode back to the horse a bit sluggishly and pulled a small bouquet of flowers from the saddlebag. He walked back over and while taking Haruhi's hand in his free one, placed them down in front of the gravestone, brushing his hand over her name engraved in the stone.

The same heavy feeling he always felt when he was here filled his chest. He traced over the _M _in his mother's name. "Miss you, Mother," he breathed then squeezed Haruhi's hand and turned away from the grave. He didn't look back as he walked back to the horse and mounted quickly. He took a deep breath. "Come on, Haruhi. We have a lot to talk about."

~o~

The entire ride back to the palace, Haruhi's thoughts were so scrambled not even she could decipher them. The only thing she really completely knew was that they were all centered around the man she was holding the waist of right now to keep from falling off the horse. No matter what she thought about it somehow connected directly back to Kyoya.

Kyoya's proposal.

Kyoya wanting to end the war.

Kyoya wanting to marry her.

Could Kyoya even possibly know _how _to end the war?

Kyoya wanted to _marry _her. Did he even know what marrying her could entail? Was he off his rocker?

Finally, they had reached the palace and all her thoughts came to a screeching halt. It didn't matter whether or not he knew what it entailed. She now knew that he cared enough to notice that she was missing. He trusted her, he'd made that much clear. And he cared more than enough to try and protect her. Her test of him had worked. She could end the avoidance game she'd been playing with him for the past few days.

She put his caring and words at the graveyard together.

He was already falling for her.

She had, of course, wanted him to stop pushing her away, but she now realized that he had been doing it to keep _himself _in check.

"Oh," Haruhi muttered to herself out loud. Kyoya glanced up at her with an eyebrow raised in question. She shook her head and he gave her one more skeptical look before holding out a hand to help her down. She took it hesitantly. "Kyoya," she mumbled, looking him in the eye once her feet were on the ground.

"What?"

"Thank you for trying. You're strong. So much stronger than me." It was true. She had found over the last few days that during the times she would escape she would crave his warmth and presence. She would yearn to go find him herself. She had acted like a child to try and get his attention without realizing that she already had it.

It was scary. This entire business was scary.

He had already started falling for her. And she, him. That was more frightening than anything she had ever faced before.

But when she stopped thinking about it, she realized that...

She didn't really want it to end.

She didn't want her silly curse to stop them.

And as she looked at his confused expression she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

The first kiss they had shared in over two weeks.

The second that she had initiated.

He responded, kissing back gently then breaking away. Her chest clenched and her stomach did a flip. He still looked a bit confused. "I'll try harder," she whispered, "But... I may also be unable to stop it."

He looked at her oddly, like she might have gone insane or caught some kind of mental illness that made her talk in strange phrases. Then he shook his head with a soft chuckle. "An enigma. A goddamn enigma, Haruhi." She scowled at him. Here she was trying to be understanding and he ruined it by calling her an enigma. And she _still _didn't know what the hell he meant by that. "Come," he murmured, leaving the horse, still saddled, for one of the stable boys to take care of. He held out his hand again and she suppressed a smile as she took it. Something told her she shouldn't be smiling because their conversation was going to be very serious.

They wound their way through the courtyard to the main entrance to the royal wing. He seemed to be heading toward the stairs by the dining room before changing his mind and stopping by his downstairs office instead. He strode to bookcase while she looked at him skeptically. Instead, she found that when he whispered a certain word or phrase to the shelves, it swung out to reveal a narrow hallway crammed between the walls of the next door general library and Kyoya's office.

"You aren't to tell anyone that this is here, understand?" he murmured strictly, "It only opens to a certain spoken password. Only Tachibana and myself know it. Only my guards and myself are even aware of this passage." Haruhi nodded once. He squeezed into the passage and allowed her through before closing it behind him with a soft _thump_.

"Where does it go?" she asked in slight awe as she followed his hurried pace. He took a right and it gradually sloped downward the further they went.

When it finally got dark enough, Kyoya muttered, "_Aduro_." A small ball of light appeared in his hand, lighting up the passageway around them in a bubble. He took her hand in his free one and pulled her along like he might lose her in the darkness that surrounded them outside of his little bubble of light. "All over the palace," he answered her question quietly, "It used to be a servants' passage before servants were allowed to be seen in their masters presence. It hasn't been used as such for nearly 150 years now and I doubt that anyone alive today even knows about them, except perhaps my father."

"Where are _we _going?" A chill had come over the passage the farther down they went. Kyoya took a left a few feet after she noticed this. "Some other secret place?"

He snorted slightly in amusement and said quite blankly, "No."

"Where then?" The passage sloped up again. Haruhi frowned a bit. What the...?

"Somewhere that we can talk without interruptions and where no one will know where we are."

"Couldn't we just go to your bedroom?"

He smiled slyly. "That would require my brothers knowing that we're back. This way, the guards saw us last in my office, therefore, they will assume that we're doing work there and not bother us, leaving us free to roam on our own."

"Then... Where...?"

"Haruhi, there are entrances to this passage all over the castle. We could literally go _anywhere _inside the walls. Hell, there are probably some passages that lead _outside _that I haven't found yet."

She looked at him in alarm. "Couldn't that be a security problem?"

"Possibly. But considering I'm 98 percent positive that no one else knows about them, I'm sure that it isn't. Besides, any outside passages are probably pass key protected like most of the entrances are." A spiral staircase came into view in front of them, Kyoya took them two at a time, tugging her along behind him. A few feet from the top of the stairs was the faint outline of a door. Kyoya pointed at it a muttered, "That opens into the full length mirror in my bedroom. Remember that." He kept going straight until the passage T-ed off in two new directions. Kyoya took the right. He pointed to another door."That goes into Yuiichi's room."

"Kyoya... This could be a major escape route for the royal family if you were ever under siege."

He shook his head. "Not if it doesn't go outside."

"Even then though, your entire family could easily hide in here."

"We'd only starve to death then."

She pursed her lips. "My dad told me that passages like this are the reason that he and I are alive right now," she said quietly as he took a right. The passage sloped down again. "Why does it do this? The sloping?"

"To go underneath hallways. Ever notice how the ceiling in the downstairs halls is lower than in the rooms? This is why." Soon, the passage went back uphill. "Almost there." He pointed to one more door on their way past. "Akito's bedroom."

"How long have you been exploring these?"

"I stumbled on one on accident when I was about six. I've gradually been finding the true extent of them ever since." A few more feet and he took a sharp left that was almost a u-turn. The passage that branched the other direction sloped downward quickly. About a minute later he stopped in front of a doorway and whispered, _"S__olvo." _The light ball in his hand fizzled out. He breathed something else at the wall next to them and it clicked open.

He let her out first and shut the shelving behind them quickly. She looked around. "Your father's library," she murmured, looking a bit impressed by how he'd gotten them there. He smirked.

"I hope you remember that route. If you ever need to hide somewhere, like if the Witch arrives unexpectedly or anything like that, take any of the passages that I've shown you. The password is _patefacio scientia_."

She nodded quickly, understanding why he had told her this. It was another way for him to protect her. She found herself smiling. "Open knowledge?" she translated the magic phrase.

He nodded wordlessly and changed the subject as he led her to a more enclosed part of the huge library.

"Now," he paused long enough to take a seat in one of two chairs in the area, "I have thought very hard about a strategy we could use that could end the war. So far, I've come up only with partials, none of which will satisfy the needs of all the countries involved. Of course, it's rather hard for me to satisfy all those different needs when I represent only one country."

"Understandably," she murmured.

He continued. "It's even more difficult when I begin to realize that although my father has given me war-related tasks, he's never actually told me what we're trying to gain out of it. And there are obstacles in both Nari and Kira that I can't even begin to touch on."

He stood and strode over to the small desk nearby, rifling through the drawers until he found a piece of paper and a pencil. He drew a quick map of Filandria in one corner, basically a circle that was divided into seven countries in their respective places. He retook his seat. "I've thought about a full on military siege of the Kiran palace but that isn't peaceful so I'd rather not do it."

Haruhi nodded her approval. He started scribbling a list on the side of the paper next to the map. "To my knowledge there are three things that are keeping Nari from even thinking about peace." He showed her the three words written on the paper.

_Witch  
__Moradians  
__Succession_

Haruhi frowned at her race's name on the list. "Why are the Moradians on there?"

"My father believes that one of them killed my mother and there are still rebel forces hiding everywhere, refusing to comply to the Narian government." He pushed up his glasses and added, "And if I'm not mistaken the Kiran government also readily accepts Moradian refuges?"

Haruhi nodded. "They're accepted but the fact that they're Moradian is never mentioned. That's the only way that my father and I were able to join the royal court. No one knew."

"My father doesn't like that Kira so readily accepts them and wishes to get rid of your race completely."

"Just because of one person?" He nodded solemnly, actually looking quite perplexed by his father's behavior himself. "That's not fair!"

"Haruhi... My father was deeply in love with my mother. The arrow that eventually killed her was intended for him. And when she was shot... in front of our entire family no less..." He stopped and closed his eyes, his head bowing briefly. "It tore our entire family apart. I think the only reason that _Uherfa _hates Moradians so much is because of her death."

"How does he know it was one of them though?"

Kyoya swallowed and leaned closer to her. She could tell that it pained him to talk about this. Even if only briefly. "The arrowhead was dipped in a poison that was commonly used in the Moradian army when it still existed. We didn't know about it until after she had died." A pang of sympathy went through Haruhi's heart. She gently slipped a hand into his and squeezed, smiling at him. He drew in a deep breath and continued, "As for the other two... The Witch has an incredible amount of influence, especially over my father. Sometimes the way he acts around her makes me think that he never cared about _Uhermo _at all."

Haruhi made a face, trying not to think of what he might mean. Her grandmother and Kyoya's father...? Gross. Just gross. Especially considering that her grandmother was probably about 300 years old but only looked 55. Kyoya stifled a chuckle at her expression. Haruhi looked at him and muttered distastefully, "She visits Kira every once and a while... That's only because she's practically obligated to though. And she has immunity there due to the deal that Yuzuru made with her when we were just toddlers."

"The succession of the Narian throne is an internal problem. My brothers and I fighting for the throne causes quite a bit of a stir-up. All three of us have a different view on the war doesn't lighten matters any. I'm anti-war, Akito's pro-war, and Yuiichi's neutral."

"Meaning that the war could be prolonged or shortened depending on who gets the throne."

He nodded sharply once, pleased that she was catching on. "If Akito got the throne he wouldn't stop until both Moradians and Kirans were wiped out. Yuiichi might be convinced to make peace."

"And you would definitely rather make peace."

"Exactly."

"I didn't actually realize that this war included Mora. Even after so many years of Mora being gone." He nodded in agreement. She studied his face. He looked... tired. Haruhi looked at the window. The sun was setting, that was probably why she got the feeling that he was tired. It was almost time to sleep. She looked back at his face. "Why is it... That everyone who is supposed to be enemies are friends?" He shrugged.

"We're different people than our parents. We think and feel differently, thus we make friends and enemies differently as well." He paused then added, "I've stopped trying to think of ways to justify my father's actions and thinking. It isn't worth my time any longer as his thoughts are so complex that no one but him can possibly make sense of them."

"Well," Haruhi murmured, "If we're going to end the war we're going to have to find some way to change his way of thinking about things, aren't we?" He nodded tiredly and leaned his body forward a bit more till his forehead rested on her shoulder. She sighed. "Tired?" He nodded his head against her shoulder. "We could turn in early."

"When we're finished," he murmured, breath hot against her neck. She looked at his hand still clasped in hers. He was awfully comfortable. Her chest twinged a bit painfully but she clamped down on the feeling. She lifted her free hand carefully and stroked his hair absentmindedly. Finally he heaved a sigh and lifted his head. "I need any information you can give me on Kira's internal conflicts and their objectives in the war."

She blinked a few times. "Kyoya... You realize that that's very sensitive information."

"I do. And I will treat it as such."

She nodded slowly and his grip on her hand tightened a little. "The army, as you know, has taken on a mind of its own. The extent to this, I'm not sure of but the royal court no longer has much if any control of it. Fusawa is head of this military movement and he has a surprising amount of support. I think most of the soldiers are either unaware and following orders blindly or actually hate Nari severely enough to want to destroy them as much as Fusawa."

Kyoya's mouth twitched in irritation. "How bothersome," he muttered. She could tell he had an extreme distaste for the Kiran General. She didn't blame him. She had started to develop a dislike of the man herself and she was supposedly his subordinate.

"Other than that. From what I can see Kira is protecting the Moradian refuges from Narian malice. My guess if that they're fighting the defensive."

"They have been for most of the war." He frowned and shook his head slowly. "They've only really had the offensive during the few assassination attempts and Yuki's kidnapping, all of which failed. On the front lines, we've always had the offensive."

"When I return to Kira... I'll try to get more information and I'll inform anyone that I find trustworthy enough what we're doing."

He looked at her sharply. "Such as...?"

"Tamaki," she stated, "I think having the Kiran prince in on our plans will be a tremendous plus." She paused. "Hikaru and Kaoru. Both of which are slowly moving up the military food chain and are gaining Fusawa's trust. They'd be a great asset as well." She thought carefully, thinking of anyone else that might be useful in their planning. "Hunny and Mori possibly as well. They're Gratweny."

Kyoya hummed. "We didn't have nearly as much trouble with Gratwenies as we did Moradians. Possibly because they were a smaller country in political turmoil already when we stepped in. A lot of their citizens still fled though, I'm sure. Father, it seems, was afraid of another encounter like the one we have with Mora, so he prosecuted anyone that stepped outside their boundaries."

"I'm really starting to hate your father..." He merely chuckled in response. "Is there any way that you could convince Yuiichi to aid us?"

Kyoya's eyes flashed and he quickly shook his head. "No," he muttered, "No. Absolutely not. It's best if neither of my brothers knows. Although Yuiichi is neutral on the war he could still have a loose mouth and he may not agree with us on everything. Yuiichi and Akito will both be left out. Tachibana, however, and my other guards, are all loyal to _me _more than my father. They may be let in. Fuyumi as well. She's always hated the war. And then we'd have a Paitet royal support as well. Speaking of which... She and her husband have consented to being a shelter for you should you ever need to flee from Kira or here."

"Really? Hmm. That's... interesting. Might be useful in the future."

"Hopefully you won't need it because _hopefully _you won't get caught." He looked at her pointedly and added, "But it's there if you do need it."

"Is that all?" she murmured, gazing into his tired onyx eyes. He nodded and stood. She noticed that their hands were still intertwined and found herself smiling despite herself. "To bed then?" Again, he nodded and tiredly trudged out of the library with her at his side, hand-in-hand. When they reached his bedroom she stood by the bed while he climbed in it. "Don't overwork yourself thinking of a solution to this, Kyoya," she murmured as she sat on the bed. "It's going to take time."

"I know," he replied. "I'm willing to take that time though." She nodded and gave him a small smile as she burrowed under the covers with him, keeping a respectful distance. He was exhausted and thus fell asleep quickly. She stared up at the ceiling for awhile and then back at the slumbering Shadow King. His hand lay between them as if reaching for her without actually making it. She sighed under her breath and turned onto her side, placing her hand next to his outstretched one.

She didn't think it would be possible to fall asleep so easily.

~o~

Haruhi woke with a start several days later to a hand on over her mouth. She almost screamed but when she looked up at her supposed attacker she found Kyoya standing over her with a finger to his lips. She calmed almost instantly. He uncovered her mouth slowly. "What?" she whispered. He shook his head and pointed to the mirror.

"Hide until I come get you," he breathed back. He looked toward the bedroom door anxiously. She noticed then that he had a dagger drawn and hurriedly pulled herself out of bed, rushing toward the mirror. He caught her arm and pushed a robe and a second dagger into her hands. "I know you can defend yourself, but only do so if completely necessary, alright?" She nodded.

"_P__atefacio Scientia,"_she whispered to the mirror, entering as soon as it swung open. She glanced both ways down the passage after pulling it closed and took a left toward the way to his office. She stopped not far from the door back into Kyoya's bedroom, listening for any sounds that might tell her what the hell was happening.

She didn't dare create light even though she doubted that anyone would be able to see it. She tentatively stepped back toward the door and put her ear against it. She didn't hear anything. After a few moments of intent listening she started to hear voices.

"... Is she?" A female voice, unrecognizable because of the muffling that the door created.

"Not here. Get out." Even though it was terribly distorted, Haruhi could still make out Kyoya's deep voice.

"You're lying. Akito said she was here. And you have a knife drawn so obviously you were expecting to have to fight someone in order to distract them. You can't hide her forever, Kyoya."

"Want to bet on that?"

"Why are you so intent on keeping me from meeting her anyway? I just want to know who my future step-son is involving himself with. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"I'm never going to be your step-son and I'm old enough to protect myself. Get. Out. Your presence is unneeded and unwanted here." Kyoya obviously didn't welcome whoever it was he was talking to at all. She didn't think she'd ever heard him sound so harsh, except perhaps when he was torturing Yuki's kidnapper.

"Oh... But you can't banish me. You may be King while Yoshio's sleeping but I haven't done anything wrong. And you can't take away my immunity unless I break the contract."

"I don't care. I still have the right to kick you out of _my _chambers. Get out."

"Fine," the woman seemed to be nonchalant. "I'll be sure to mention this to Yoshio when he wakes. Though my main purpose for coming here was to try and heal him. I suppose I should do that. I do expect to meet this lover of yours eventually though, Kyoya."

Then there was silence. Haruhi moved away from the door and waited in the dark until, finally, the door in front of her swung open, revealing Kyoya's lean form. He was swearing under his breath as he closed the passage behind him. "Damn Witch."

"She's _here_?" Haruhi asked incredulously.

"Yes. One of her surprise visits where she masks her intentions by saying that she's here to see _Uherfa _when she really just wants to bother me about you." He quietly lit a light ball in his hand as he had done before.

"How long is she staying?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "Hopefully not more than a day. Normally her surprise visits are brief but I wouldn't put it past her to make this one extra long in hopes of either irritating me halfway to hell or catching sight of you." He took her hand and led her down the same path he had previously taken to the library a few nights before. This time though, he completely surpassed the entrance to his father's library and kept going along the passage, turning left when he got to a fork. He continued straight as he murmured, "We're in the servant's wing right now."

When he couldn't go straight any more he followed the passage as it turned right. After what seemed like forever he stopped in front of a door and knocked once quickly. "I thought you said no one knew," she accused softly.

"Okay," he amended shortly, "There are a few maids who know about it only because their families have been serving mine for generations." A call came through the door after a moment and he muttered the password to open it. He pulled her through the narrow door, right into the sight of two women. The older one looked like she might be the mother of the younger. "Haruhi," he introduced quietly, "This is Desdemona Hedgewood and her daughter Charmaine. Mona, Maine, this is my..." He glanced at her, unsure of what to call her, "... Friend, Haruhi."

"Oh, we've heard plenty about her," Mona said with a huge smile. "And if I'm not mistaken she's quite a bit more than a friend, Kyoya." He scowled a bit at her but didn't object. "What brings you here through the passage?"

"I need you to hide Haruhi."

"From what?" Maine snorted.

"The Witch. There's bad blood between the two of them. And let's just say a meeting between them wouldn't be pretty." Charmaine shrugged her shoulders but Mona nodded her head sympathetically. "I want her to remain in the castle, just out of sight of the Witch. You could even put her to work. I doubt she'd mind." Haruhi glared at him but he just smirked lightly and squeezed her hand, dropping her hand.

"If she isn't gone in a week..." Haruhi muttered, looking at him.

"I know you have to leave in a week," he replied quickly, "I doubt she will be here that long but if she is then we'll get you out somehow." Desdemona and her daughter didn't ask.

"We'll take care of her, Kyoya," Maine said with a large note of confidence in her voice. Kyoya rose an eyebrow at her but nodded in thanks anyway.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Both women nodded their heads with small smiles and turned away as their King turned to Haruhi. "I will be back when I can."

"She really messes things up a lot, doesn't she?" the brunette grumbled with a scowl.

He chuckled. "She does. Hopefully though she won't scramble _Uherfa_'s brain with her magic while trying to heal him. The last thing we need is him waking up with a new outlook on life that matches up perfectly with the Witch's views." Haruhi nearly rolled her eyes but somehow stopped herself as he turned his gaze directly to her eyes. "I trust you to stay safe."

"I'll try my best," she replied, giving him an odd look. "You should get back to your room before anyone suspects anything." He nodded but didn't move toward the passage again. She stared at him, feeling like there was something else he wanted to tell her. Finally though he shook his head and leaned forward until his lips came in contact with her temple, his hand grabbed hers again and squeezed it.

"I'll be back."

"I have no doubt you will."

She watched him leave, the door the passage closing behind him. When she turned Maine and Mona were both working on different things but Mona looked up at her with a knowing twinkle in her eye.

Haruhi didn't want to know what was going through the older woman's head.

~o~

**A/N: Yaaaay! Longer chapter this time to make up for the short one last time! And a lot sooner too! Yay! So... Things are getting more intense. This chapter is really information-heavy and I apologize if that's confusing. It took me a while to figure out exactly how and where I was going about this (22 chapters to be exact, and now I can't really backtrack and fix things if I need to so I had to make it fit the story as it is now...) Kyoya and Haruhi are also getting a lot more affectionate, which bothers me a little but not TOO much since it isn't THAT bad. **

**If you have any questions, leave a review and I'll try to clarify OR I have a spiffy new author website that I made: emmegs. webs. com without spaces. There you can also get updates on where I am in the next chapter. Since I'm gradually making ms paint diagrams and stuff of things in Filandria that I need to draw out just to keep straight, I'll probably be posting them there too. Hopefully the introduction of this site will cut down on my ramblings... Maybe.**

**I've been diagnosed with insomnia which is causing my headaches from hell. So... that's great. Insomnia is part of the reason that this story is alive though, so I guess it can't be all bad. Unfortunately it's wreaking havoc on my grades. **

**Kudos to: Nessie-san, zenophobiaz, ShadowedSerenity, Twinklefeather (Answer to your question: I have major events planned out in my head but everything in between those points is basically made up as I go. As I said earlier, I JUST figured out where and how I'm going with this.), Magpie09, Victoria5624, Obscurity Within Mercy, JUCHKO (Ahahaha... Funny you should mention the curse... Err. Um. I'll shut up now.), Christina E. Lupin, and Koharu Veddette. Thank you guys for sticking by me even when I'm a rambling authoress. **

**So! Check out my new website because I'm pretty excited for it! **

**Until next time! **

**-E.M. Megs**


	26. 24: Confronting

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 24 - Confronting_

Haruhi learned a ton about Kyoya from Charmaine and Desdemona over the three days that The Witch remained in the palace. It turned out that 27-year-old Charmaine had known Kyoya since he was a baby and used to help look after him as well as play with Fuyumi and Akito. Desdemona was the one that would babysit him when his parents were busy too. The entire Hedgewood family had been serving the Ohtoris for nearly 300 years. Thus, Haruhi heard all sorts of stories about the Ohtori children.

"Kyoya was the cutest little boy, but he hated it if you called him that," Mona murmured as she sat with some embroidery.

"He wanted to be like his father when he grew up so he refused to be treated like a child. Mayumi used to hate it when he would act like that and tried to teach him that he needed to be himself instead of Yoshio," Maine added quietly. Haruhi looked at the older young adult. She wouldn't have guessed that right off the bat. The way that he acted around his father now made it seem as though Kyoya disliked his father enough that he never would want to be anything more than his position.

"What happened when the Queen died then?" she asked. She didn't know details. Kyoya hadn't given details. Maine and Mona looked at each other, then at her.

Finally Mona spoke with her own amount of sadness interjected in her voice. "When Mayumi died... A lot of things changed. Yoshio was bound by grief. The kids were 9, 14, 16, and 20. Yuiichi took on responsibilities he shouldn't have needed to. He met with the court, he organized the funeral. Yoshio shut them out and left it to his oldest son for months. No one knew that such a strong man could be torn apart by one event, but his wife's death did it.

"Yuiichi allowed Akito to help with small tasks, triggering the younger boy's desire to become king one day. Yuiichi couldn't always keep a check on him though and without Yoshio imposing rules on him, he... got into trouble. Fuyumi took on the role of mothering Kyoya, which is why they're so close now. She tried to watch Akito too, but she couldn't always and Akito didn't like to listen to someone who was only two years older than him."

"Akito always saw me as everyone's favorite. He thought I was Mother and Father's favorite, he thought that Fuyumi and Yuiichi liked me more than him. That was the only reason he acted out. He wanted to take the attention off of me." Haruhi turned sharply at Kyoya's voice coming from the passage door. He didn't look at her but continued speaking, "Mother... Had a way of making sure everyone was happy. She made sure that Father wasn't too hard on us, she kept Akito busy, she made sure I had the care I deserved even though my birth was never planned."

Haruhi swallowed. She suddenly felt as though she was trespassing some personal territory of Kyoya's. "Kyoya," she mumbled, embarrassed at being caught talking about him. A lump caught in her throat. "I didn't mean..."

"If you wanted to know something you could have asked, Haruhi," he replied, still not even batting an eye at her. She stared at his face. It remained expressionless but she knew that it was never like that unless he was trying to hide what he was really feeling.

"I didn't want to pry open anything painful..."

"She died 12 years ago, Haruhi. It..."

"Don't tell me it doesn't affect you anymore. I _know _it does. I saw how you were last week at her grave." She stood up and sighed with frustration. "Sometimes it bothers me how much you keep from me when I want to know so I can understand you more." She looked away from him, toward Mona and Maine, then back at him and let out a breath. "What did you need?"

"She's gone. You can come back to my quarters now."

He was back in the passage with the door closed before she could think to reply. "Is he angry?"

"Well," Maine mused, "Considering that he's never liked to be called out like that, I'd say he's probably a bit offended if anything."

"Haruhi... He's been particular about the subject of his mother ever since she died," Mona murmured. "If you want to know about it, you'd have to know what kinds of questions to ask and you'd have to be very sensitive. There... are some things that not even we know about what he went through."

Haruhi looked toward the wardrobe that the passage entrance was hidden behind. "Thank you," she mumbled quickly to the two women before opening the door and ducking inside. She found him in his bedroom when she got back. His back was to her, shoulders hunched. "Kyoya?" She put her hands on his shoulders, squeezing. Hesitantly, they trailed down his back and wrapped around his waist. She gently rested her head against his back. "You know I wouldn't ever think less of you," she mumbled into the back of his shirt.

His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know," he murmured. "Thank you." She felt him tense and released him. He turned to face her slowly, his hands found hers, intertwining their fingers together. "There are some things I'm not ready to face. Things I've locked away for years." She tightened her grip on her hands, prompting him to continue. He closed his eyes and let his head fall to rest against hers. "When all of us were little, I couldn't have been older than 5, Mother told us that there would come a time when we would have to confront our problems by ourselves.

"A few weeks later Akito almost killed me. It was an accident. The two of us and Maine were playing a silly game where I was somehow the bad guy and Maine and Akito were interrogating me or something. I don't even remember what the game was. But there was a bow and arrow that Akito had. He shot me in the chest. Luckily, Maine screamed and ran to get Mother. I think she almost beat Akito within an inch of his life.

"She seemed... Afraid... After that. She didn't want to leave me alone with Akito anymore. She worried over the smallest things. It was almost like she thought that her words had been what influenced Akito..."

"But you said that it was an accident..."

He swallowed and didn't answer, his eyes remained closed. "Sometimes I wonder if it was. He's never been particularly friendly with me as it is. Would he have gone to get help if Maine hadn't been there?"

She carefully pulled her hands from his and moved them to cradle his face. In return his shifted to her waist. "I'm sure that he didn't _try _to kill you," she whispered.

"Whether he actually tried to or not is beside the point, Haruhi." He lifted his head and opened his eyes to stare her in the eye. "Sometimes I feel like I can't even trust my own family since _Uhermo_ died. She was the one who protected me. _Uherfa _never even wanted me." He drew in a deep breath. She hated how defenseless he seemed at this moment. But wasn't that what she wanted? She wanted him to share with her. Even the small stuff.

"Does that matter? Does it matter whether he wanted you or not?" He tried to divert his eyes but she held him firmly in place. "Kyoya... Your mother loved you. Your sister loves you. I can tell that Yuiichi cares and... I..." She stopped abruptly, unable to put any of her feelings into words. She was afraid to, honestly. They were there, lingering, but she was scared to act on or acknowledge them. She rationalized to herself that even if he had proposed to her just a week before, that did not mean that anything would come from a relationship. Or even if a relationship would arise. Voicing them aloud wouldn't help anything at all. Even if just a week ago both of them had admitted that there was _something _there.

He gave a small sigh and nodded his head, understanding that she couldn't possibly finish her sentence. They stayed there for a few more moments, standing, staring at each other as if examining the other would tell them everything that they needed to know about what they were thinking and feeling. Like they would eventually be able to see into each other's very souls.

She found herself smiling and kept her arms around him, head shifting to rest on his chest and his onto of hers. Then she sighed and muttered, "I should probably leave in the morning. Your brothers will probably suspect something if I'm gone only in the time that the Witch is here." He hummed under his breath in approval. "It won't hurt anything to go home a bit early either."

He pulled away from her and took one of her hands in his, gently pushing her sleeve up till he could see her scarred forearm. It was still red and in places her skin was swollen. Deep scars ran up and down her arm, scabbing over now but still painful to look at. "It's not good enough," he murmured under his breath, troubled. "These scars will still be evidence against you. It hasn't been long enough."

"I'll... find some way to hide them. Whether it's with armor or feigning a hurt wrist."

"I sincerely hope that you do," he murmured, letting her hand fall and eying her with a kind of reserved worry.

Somewhere in the depths of those eyes, she knew that there was some kind of affection lingering. How advanced, she couldn't even begin to imagine.

That scared her more than the prospect of returning to Kira and being caught.

~o~

By the time she approached the Kiran military camp, she was practically bouncing with anxiety. Her scarred arm was heavily armored as it had been at the Exodus Festival while she was in combat. She could feel her sanity slipping. She seriously couldn't keep up this double lifestyle. It was eventually going to tear her apart.

"Oi! Namahi! You're early!" Kaoru's exclamation broke her out of her thoughts immediately as he ran to meet her. She stared at his grin, suddenly feeling the incredible different between Nari and Kira, especially with the things she knew about Nari now. Somehow, Kaoru could still grin with that huge optimism even in the midst of a war that was probably going to kill them before it ended. Kaoru's smile faltered slightly when he took note of her expression. "What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded.

She shook her head, a light pounding had started in the back of it. "It's… nothing. Just a bit of culture shock, I guess." She felt the ring on the chain around her neck heat up, hot against her skin and closed her eyes. So soon for a message. Unless he was just checking up on her… Or something terrible had happened. "We need to talk later. You, Hikaru, Hunny, Mori, and I. All of us. And Tamaki if we can snag him."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," she muttered with a note of finality just as she caught sight of Major General Andres Larsen. A glint on his belt drove a shiver down her spine. Her arm still ached from that knife slicing into her flesh, burning it, torching it. "Nothing at all." She turned her eyes away from Larsen right as he turned his head.

"Corporal!" Larsen called out, sadistic delight in his voice. She turned cold for a moment, thinking that perhaps he had somehow figured it out before she had even set foot back in camp. "Glad to have you back, albeit a bit early. General Fusawa's been anxious for your return." He motioned to her with his hand for her to follow him. "Come with me." She followed with one last look back at Kaoru.

They got to the General's tent after passing the one that she knew harbored so many litriads they could take four or five whole squads down, possibly more. Larsen called out for consent to enter and got it. "You're early," Fusawa muttered as soon as she stepped foot in the tent.

"Yes, sir."

"Why?"

"Does it matter? It's only two days."

"I suppose not. Unless, of course, you left early for a specific urgent reason?" She shook her head. He heaved a weary sigh. "What do you have?"

"King Kyoya's cautious to do anything at the moment since my cousin is still injured from that… Blade." She spared a glanced at Larsen's belt.

To her horror, Larsen grinned sadistically. "Heard about that did you?"

"Yes," she replied drily, looking away from him. "And I don't exactly approve of your methods, Major General." She drew in a breath to calm herself as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You've angered him greatly, it seems, but he's able to keep a level head and knows better than to strike without proper planning. We can expect something, I just don't know what." That was a lie. She knew that Kyoya wasn't likely to validate a plan of attack. She just didn't want Fusawa thinking that meant that _he _should make one.

"His father. How is he?"

She turned her eyes to the General, making sure to keep her face as blank as possible. "Coma. No idea when he'll wake, if ever."

He pursed his lips and his eyebrows furrowed. "Have to say I'm a bit disappointed in your lack of information the last few trips, Corporal."

"Information is not that easy to come by, Sir. You have to be at the right place in the right time." A lie. She could easily get Kyoya to tell her battles plans for the next month. Problem was, she didn't want to tell Fusawa those plans in the first place so there was no point in asking for them.

"Dismissed."

"Sir, permission to visit Meira."

He turned his eyes back to her from the map on his desk, a suspicious frown on his face. "Why?"

"My father. I haven't seen him in three weeks and want to make sure his health is still good."

He looked at her then straightened and nodded. "Yes. Of course. Three days then should suffice?"

"Yessir." She nodded in thanks and turned again. The twins intercepted her on the way to their tent. "I'm going home for a few days. To check on Dad. Need anything while I'm there?"

"No…" Hikaru murmured, looking at her like a strange alien subject.

"What's going on?" Kaoru asked immediately. She looked around quickly, shushing them.

"Not here," she hissed, then leveled her voice again to speak normally. "Walk with me part way home? Where are Hunny and Mori? They should join us as well."

"I'll fetch them," Hikaru muttered as they approached the tent she and the twins shared.

As soon as he had left and she and Kaoru had entered the tent she turned to him and muttered in a very low voice, "He proposed. Officially. Well… Not exactly. He asked me to think about marrying him. But… He may as well have pulled out a ring and proposed outright on the spot."

Kaoru's face had grown ashen and when she looked at him his eyes were the size of saucers. "What? What did you say? You didn't….?"

"No. He's not in love with me so there was no reason to kill him." She turned away from her most faithful guard and let out a short breath. "He's a strange, complicated man. One minute he can be furious and the next dangerously sentimental. He… frightens me sometimes, Kaoru. With the things that he says…" She shook her head quickly, banishing all affectionate thoughts of the Narian prince. "Never mind that though. Nothing will come from it, I'm sure. Not for a long while in the least."

"'Not for a long while'?" Kaoru hissed, "Namahi, you make it sound like it _is _important. Like it _is _turning into something."

"Possibly. He did propose."

"Who proposed?" Hikaru's voice now demanded from the tent flap, Hunny and Mori on his tail. The three entered the tent and Haruhi closed her eyes. "Who proposed to you?"

"No one. It's nothing, Hikaru. Don't worry." Hikaru shot a look at his twin, scanning his face as if he might find the answer to his question hidden somewhere in his twin's expression. Thankfully, Kaoru remained expressionless. She threw some of her laundry in a bag and closed it up. "Come. We should get going if I'm going to make it to Meira before nightfall." She brushed past all four men and started toward the camp exit. She stopped and checked out.

"Oi. Where are they going?" the guard at the entrance asked, jabbing his finger at her entourage.

"Ah… Into town for some personal supplies. They'll probably be back by nightfall. Problem, Private?" She gave him a look that would have made Kyoya proud. The private shook his head and allowed the five of them to pass. As soon as they were out of hearing and sight range she stopped and turned to them. "Here's how it is." She turned to the twins. "I'm about to tell these two. And you're not going to stop me." She jerked her head toward Hunny and Mori quickly.

"Tell them what?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked as she looked around quickly before turning back to the cousins.

"We're-."

"Bloody hell!" Hikaru protested.

"Not that!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Oh be quiet, you two." She shushed them. She didn't even spare them a glance. "We're Moradian. The three of us. And I'm the princess in hiding." She drew in a breath and continued before anyone could interrupt her, "Now that that's out of the way… I am about to tell you four very sensitive information that must be kept in utmost secrecy. My life may depend on it." She paused and looked all four of them in the eyes. "I am not a traitor to Kira. Nor am I a spy for Kira. I am merely looking for peace. And Kyoya is helping me."

Hikaru suddenly looked like he had just swallowed a bug or a sour bit of milk. "What?"

"We're looking for a way to end the war peacefully. I know he's brilliant enough to think up a plan, if given the right information."

"You're spying for Nari then?"

"No." She sighed. "Hikaru, I told you before. Lord. You can be dense sometimes. I'm working for peace. Which is exactly what Kyoya wants too if you'd ever pay attention to what I'm saying." Hikaru wrinkled his nose. "Surely you've heard of Yuki's kidnapping…" Hunny and Mori both nodded their heads, intently keeping their mouths shut, for which she was grateful. "Kyoya's lover traded herself in exchange for Yuki. And… They tortured her." She drew in a breath, remembering the slice of the knife against her arm. "That woman… Was me."

"I knew that," Kaoru said, scowling. Hikaru shrugged his shoulders like he had known as well but Hunny rose an eyebrow.

"You sacrificed yourself to save her, Nama-_kisci_?"

"Yes… I did. And Kyoya was furious with me for a while afterwards, but never mind that. If the army knows that she was _me_…"

"They'll kill you," Mori finished quietly. She nodded her head at him.

"So you're asking for protection," Hunny murmured. It wasn't a question. She nodded again.

"Not just that though… And I might be asking too much… But I need help figuring out exactly what's going on around here. I'm going to talk to Tamaki while I'm in Meira, but he might not know exactly. If you can, I need you four to try and figure out everything you can about Fusawa's plans."

"Wouldn't Tamaki know?" Hikaru asked.

"No. Fusawa's stopped going through the royal court. From what I can tell the military is now basically a separate entity from the royal family and court. They are not controlled by anyone but Fusawa's whims. What I need, is to know why he's doing this. He's obviously vengeful, but why?" She looked at them and shook her head. "It would make sense if I could figure that out. But… I can't. Fusawa's been distant with me in particular and… I can't ever get close enough to hear him speak of plans. Will you help me?"

"Of course!" Hunny said cheerfully. "We'll help in any way we can, Nama-_kisci_!" She turned to Hikaru and Kaoru, but all they did was nod and smile.

"Get that idiot Prince on our side too," Kaoru said with a huge grin.

"Shouldn't be hard for you," Hikaru added. She drew in a deep breath and hugged each of them in sequence.

"Thank you… I know this might put your lives in danger… so thank you." She inwardly let out a sigh of relief. This was a burden off her shoulders. They were going to be extremely helpful, because hopefully one of them would be in the right place to get the information she needed. The chances of her getting everything Kyoya needed to create a proper plan were now increased greatly with five of them looking instead of one. She grinned at her four friends but couldn't help Hunny glancing worriedly at a blank-faced Mori. Something was up with them, but she didn't want to pry too much. "Alright… You should head back into camp soon… And I'll go see Dad and Tamaki."

"See you soon, Namahi," the twins both chimed with identical Cheshire smirks. Hunny waved distractedly and Mori just stood there, nodding at her solemnly. She turned, giving Hunny and Mori one last look, and hurried down the road toward Meira.

~o~

Haruhi's first moments back home were like any other… Her father squeezing her and hugging her and dragging her all over creation in joyful glee with tears of happiness at her safe return running down his face.

You would think that a man who was dignified enough to be a part of the Kiran royal court would show more manly self-control, but her father had never been that way. Which was also oddly like the Kiran crown Prince. Speaking of said Prince… As soon as her father was finished with her, she found herself being swept into the same exact routine with her best friend. By the time she was replaced safely on her feet again, she was dizzy from being spun around so much.

"Namahiiiii!" Tamaki exclaimed and she sighed with exasperation and looked at him expectantly. "I'm really glad you're home!"

"No really? I couldn't tell," she muttered sarcastically, shooting a glare in the blonde's direction. Ranka kept smartly quiet, not wanting to be the butt of his daughter's sharp tongue. Tamaki went to his corner like normal and she just rolled her eyes. She spared a glance at her father and figured that he may as well be included in hers and Kyoya's plans. "I… have something to run by the two of you."

"Like?" her father inquired, now intently listening to her.

"Kyoya and I…" She stopped and glanced at them. Neither reacted other than her father's eyes darkening a bit and Tamaki's smile dimming. She drew in a deep breath and continued, "We're trying to create a plan for peace that will address the issues in both Nari and Kira without military action."

"Okay…?" Ranka prompted softly. Tamaki just stared at her.

"I need to know everything happening with the royal court and the military."

Tamaki took a step back. "You're going to tell Kyoya this?"

"For peace, Tamaki. I'm going to tell him so he can get peace."

He seemed hurt for a moment and she didn't quite understand. Then, very slowly he looked up at her and murmured, "You're in love with him, aren't you, Namahi?"

She sighed. Why did everyone automatically jump to that conclusion? And yet, she still couldn't deny them. "Tamaki… Please. Not now."

"But you are. I can see it in your eyes. You're completely in love with him. But you're so afraid to admit it." Her father wouldn't look at them and Tamaki wouldn't stop staring at her. His purple eyes bore into her brown ones. "I understand why, of course. But…" He stopped and looked away, drawing in a deep breath.

This was a different side of Tamaki. One that she had seen before but only ever showed itself when the circumstances allowed, which wouldn't have been possible at the moment. "We have very little control over the military," Ranka spoke. Haruhi's gaze shifted to her father's. "My guess is that Fusawa is pulling rank as a superior officer, not telling his soldiers that his plans aren't royalty approved, and controlling his troops that way."

"Couldn't you arrest him?"

Her father shook his head. "It's not that easy. He controls a very large portion of the military and the other generals are both younger and look up to him."

"Father's trying to keep the problem under wraps so we don't cause widespread panic or support for Fusawa's ways," Tamaki added in a murmur.

"That's what I thought… Kyoya also said that you accept foreign refuges."

"We don't ask questions, if that's what you mean." Tamaki replied. Haruhi glanced at her father and swallowed. That meant them. They hadn't been asked where they had originally come from. That is what they had meant. They were Moradian royalty and Kiran officials didn't even know.

"Yes," Haruhi mumbled, "I'm aware. However, Moradian refuges is one reason that Nari hates Kira so much." She glanced at Tamaki and answered his question before it was out of his mouth, "Kyoya's mother was killed by a Moradian rebel when he was 9. His father resents all Moradians because of it." She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, thinking at a mile a minute. "There has to be something else…" she muttered to herself. "Something that we're not seeing. Tamaki and Kyoya got along surprisingly well for being princes of enemy countries. So I don't think it has much to do with the royal families themselves." She tapped her forehead quickly as if that would help her think faster. "The Witch!" she exclaimed, "The Witch visits Kyoya's family frequently! Is she ever here?"

"Sometimes. Not very often though. She only ever comes to Kira because she has diplomatic immunity."

"Why?" Haruhi demanded, heart racing.

"She and Father made a contract with her shortly after Mora fell. She gave us a huge portion of her part of the formerly Moradian land that she got from Nari in exchange for her help. It could only be broken if she hurt a royal court or family member."

"That's it. She's the connection. She's probably goading the damn war on. Telling Kira that Nari's taking what they earned and Nari that Kira's taking what's rightfully theirs." Haruhi shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her mind raced with what this might mean. If the Witch was a big part of the war then finding a way to get rid of her would allow them to end it easier. She shook her head quickly. 'Get rid of'? She was getting to be as bad as her grandmother. There had to be a better way than to kill her.

She took a deep breath. She was getting ahead of herself. First she had to share with Kyoya. Then they could plan the best way to take care of the situation. Together. "Anything else?" she murmured once under control again.

"Not that I can tell," Tamaki said. "Ranka?"

"Me neither. We'll be sure to tell you if we hear anything though, darling," her father answered the Prince's prodding. She nodded and stood, going to another room of the house. To her irritation Tamaki followed her and tried to start up the same conversation he had tried to in front of her father.

"What are you doing?" he asked first. But she shook her head and shushed him as she wrote a short message of her findings about The Witch to Kyoya. "Namahi… What are you doing?"

"Writing Kyoya," she replied quietly, catching him looking over her shoulder out of the corner of her eye. She chuckled under her breath as his lips turned down in a frown. "I'm not writing love letters if that's what you're thinking." She smiled as she turned to look straight into his face.

He blushed and turned away. She raised an eyebrow. How strange he was. "O-Of course I didn't think that!" he exclaimed with a defiant stutter. She laughed at his defensiveness. Her best friend did have a way of making her laugh. She shook her head at him and returned to her writing with chuckles still falling from her mouth.

"Suppose I should teach you how to use this," she muttered to herself once she was ready to send. She took the chain off her neck that held the ring and glanced up at Tamaki to make sure he was watching. "It gets warm when a message comes through. Receive word is _Lego_. Press the stone to a piece of paper and say it to get the message. Sending is similar. Write message out and press stone to the first word, say _Cogo_, and shift to the last word. Only works with people with natural magic. Twins might be able to but more likely Yuzuha will. Keep it short so you don't drain the poor soul, whoever it is." She stopped when she realized that Tamaki was staring at her. "What?"

"Why him?"

She turned away abruptly, prepping herself to send the short message to Kyoya as she mumbled, "What do you mean?"

"Why did you choose him?"

"I don't understand."

"Yes you do. I know you do. Because I shouldn't have to explain your own feelings to you. You're smart."

"I haven't chosen anyone. I'm neutral." Her stomach flipped uncomfortably because she _did _know what he was talking about. And the thought of that actually frightened her horrifically.

"I'm not talking about the war, Namahi. And you know it." She swallowed and refused to look at him. "Why him? Why not… Hikaru or Kaoru… Or…"

"You?" she finished, her stomach discomfort transforming into full-blown nausea. He didn't say anything, confirming her fears. Her heart began to wrench so hard that tears forced their way into her eyes. She looked away from him quickly so he wouldn't see. "I… _can't _choose, Tamaki. I _won'__t_. Choosing something like that… Isn't good for anyone. It means fear… And pain… And blood. And I don't want to go through that nor put anyone else through it."

"But you've already-."

"Don't, Tamaki," she breathed, "Just don't." His lips zipped themselves tight. Very slowly the feeling in her chest stopped. She looked back at him.

"If you had to choose…"

"I _can't _Tamaki. If I choose one of you then more than likely someone's going to end up dead. Do you want that?" He shook his head with pursed lips. She sighed and turned back to the waiting paper, ring in hand. She went through the sending procedure without a hitch. "I'm going to leave the ring with you. Because it's more useful in the hands of someone here than it is in mine since I switch between Nari and here quite regularly." He nodded, staying quiet for once.

She couldn't help but feel like he was sad somehow…

However, to her relief the rest of her stay in Miera, Tamaki didn't bring it up again.

~o~

Another few good days went by where she plotted and enjoyed herself with her four army friends. They set up a system that would be fool-proof in order to protect each other. And then, like all good things in Haruhi's life, it had to end.

"They're gone," Kaoru said as he and his twin burst into the tent while she was lounging in her free time. She sat up quickly, shooting them both quizzical looks.

"Mori and Hunny," Hikaru clarified at the same time that the younger Hitachiin repeated, "They're gone!"

"What do you mean _gone_?" Haruhi demanded quickly.

"As in disappeared," Kaoru said.

"They just… left," Hikaru continued.

"Haven't been signed out of camp or assigned a mission."

"Nothing."

"They up and left."

"No trace of them anywhere."

Fear coursed through her briefly, making her think that perhaps Mori and Hunny had given her up and were in hiding to make sure that no one would hurt them. She tried to crush the feeling but it only intensified as another random head poked its way into her tent and said, "Corporal Marioka, General Fusawa and Major-General Larsen request your presence."

"I'll be right there," she told the other soldier quietly. He retreated and she turned her gaze to the twins. "I have a really bad feeling."

"Ditto," they chimed. She stood and prepared to leave.

"If I don't come back… Tell Tamaki to send a message to Kyoya saying… Well…" Then she shook her head. "Never mind…. It doesn't matter. Just tell him that he's on his own. I'll go to Pait if I can… But somehow I don't think I'll have the chance."

Neither twin asked her what she thought might happen to her. But they could only assume that she thought she was walking to her death.

~o~

The first thing that happened when she entered the tent was the armor on her injured arm being ripped off by Larsen's prying fingers. She didn't look down just swallowed and stared straight at her commanding officer as Larsen's accusing gaze glared at her. "It's sufficient, sir," the Major-General said, stepping back.

She opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off by Fusawa. "Didn't think you could play the role of a woman so well, Marioka. Unless of course, you are one. In which you're breaking another law."

"I don't understand, sir," she said, keeping her face carefully blank in order to keep herself from showing her true fear.

"Don't play dumb," Larsen snarled. "Been sleeping with any Narian Princes lately?" She remained calm and blank. No way was any reaction from her going to convict her for high treason.

"No. What would make you think that?" she asked innocently.

"I tortured your cousin."

"I know."

"But she's not your cousin. She's you."

"Reducing yourself to petty insults now are you?"

"Be quiet! You show the same signs of the methods I performed, putting you in a very tight spot, Corporal."

"Where's your proof?"

Fusawa cleared his throat, signaling Larsen to back off with an indignant, angry huff. "The evidence would be in your actions. And the testimony of three different people. Though I must say I'm impressed with how long you've been able to masquerade as a man, _Miss _Marioka, this silly façade really needs to come to an end."

"I assure you that I-."

"Bullshit," Larsen cut off. She pursed her lips, unable to keep her annoyance from showing. "You're Kyoya Ohtori's lover. The evidence in plain on your arm."

"I've been useful though, haven't I? Even if I am a woman… being so allowed me on the inside. Gave me the proper leverage."

"Snake," Larsen hissed.

"You interfered with a military operation." The Kiran General did not look like a happy man. He made some kind of signal and two men from outside the tent entered and took hold of her arms. She knew what would happen next.

"Yuki is five and is completely innocent," Haruhi snapped back.

"Your defense of her just proves your guilt," Larsen growled. She sighed and submitted herself to being forced to her knees while Fusawa stated her sentence.

"Namahi Marioka, you're under arrest for high treason. You will be stripped of rank and imprisoned until the time of your hanging in four days time. Any attempt to resist will result in your immediate death."

~o~

**A/N: Woooooah, it's a long one! 13 pages and over 6000 words! Can you say JEE-ZUS? **

**I'm not even going to comment on the content other than to say that defenseless Kyoya is rather… odd to see and will not appear very often. Mostly because he freaks me out. Anywayssssss… We can all tell what's going to happen. **

**Kudos to: isara-love, Mrs. Ootori43ver (Long time no see! Missed you!), crimson-goth-girl, Toffee-Pixie, Countess of Western March, Magpie09, ShadowedSerenity, JUCHKO, Obsessed Dreamer, Victoria5624, Nessie-san, and Koharu Veddette! **

**Now excuse me while I sleep off my constant migraine that sleep probably won't help. But hey, I found out that I don't have brain cancer! Woohoo! Just means that I can enjoy The Fault in Our Stars all the more (I'm reading it for the second of many times to come.) **

**By the way… This is the start of a (non-existent) new years resolution to try and update at least once a month this year until I finish this story. (Which means I may need reminders ever few weeks. Hint hint.) **


	27. 25: Dying

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 25 – Dying_

Instead of passionately trying to argue her innocence, Haruhi let herself be led away as she tried to think of how to get out of this mess with internal fury. It seemed to her that Fusawa wouldn't hear any pleas of innocence anyway. And she knew that any soldier that tried to defy the General would be accused of the same treason. She caught sight of the twins somewhere, hiding among the few people there, as she was led to the tent that held the make-shift prison. That was… a cold iron cage with a cot.

It was empty, as it normally was unless they had a surplus of Narian captives at the palace dungeon. As soon as Tamaki and her father heard about this, she was positive that they'd do anything they could to get her out.

And she knew that all their attempts would fail.

So she sat on her cot, absentmindedly dragging her feet in shapes in the dirt, thinking of things that might have been but never would be. Thinking about what death might be like, yet knowing that she wouldn't be able to really experience it since she'd be the one dying. That was the paradox of it. Someone that was dying would never really know what they were feeling until they were gone. And then… What then?

Was there really some kind of afterlife where she would see her mother at last? Where everyone that she had known that had passed on would be waiting for her?

Children always envisioned the afterlife as a magical kingdom in the sky. But what could children possibly know of death? Children who were barely even alive could not possibly know what it was like.

The question plagued her, possibly a side effect of knowing that your death is coming very _very _soon.

Either way, she had nothing to do. There was nothing in the make-shift prison for her amusement. She wrinkled her nose and stared up at the tan cloth of the tent that sloped over the bars of her cage. She didn't even have a way to tell Kyoya directly what was happening on her end. She had to rely on the twins and Tamaki for that.

Somehow, that was unsatisfying. Relying on others to tell Kyoya what happened to her. They couldn't tell him everything that she had been thinking and feeling. They couldn't possibly even imagine what she would have wanted to tell him.

But what exactly would she tell him?

_Good luck. Sorry I'm such a klutzy failure and that I didn't get the chance to reply to your proposal._

_Sorry you put your trust in a woman doomed to die._

_That_? No. She didn't want to tell him that. She didn't want to apologize for knowing him. Because she was glad that she did. He was a brilliant man. Brilliant and surprising. Calm and refined. Not to mention he had wanted to marry her, curse and all. _That _was pretty damn rare, finding someone that wanted your hand even while knowing the dangers. She thought about her feelings for a moment but shook her head almost immediately. She still wasn't even sure if they existed. And she still didn't want to think about them quite yet.

_No, _she concluded silently. Perhaps it _was _better for the others to take care of telling Kyoya everything.

~o~

She wasn't allowed any visitors besides the random Private that would come and give her meals and Major-General Larsen, whom she really was beginning to despise if she hadn't already classified her loathsome feelings toward him as that already. He'd been deemed worthy to interrogate her, meaning that he was purposely flaunting both his authority and supposedly manliness at her every chance that he got. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn he was trying to flirt with her. And she never thought that she would meet someone cockier than Kyoya, but at least Kyoya had _some _respect. Larsen, it seemed had no respect for anyone around him but his superior officer, and sometimes even that was shaky.

She sighed as he sat outside her prison for the millionth time, drilling her on her activities the past few months while cleaning his cursed blade. The skin on her arm itched just watching the metal glint between silver, gold, and blood red in a fashion that would be disheartening even to someone that didn't know what it was capable of.

"For the thousandth goddamn time, I have never and will never betray Kira as a country. I have too much damn respect for King Yuzuru and Prince Tamaki."

"If you have so much respect for them then I don't understand why you would break a law that they enforce."

"I'd severely encourage a chat with Tamaki and Yuzuru if I were you," she shot back scathingly, "Being a woman does not immediately make me a nuisance to society and a hinder to the army."

"It does if you sleep with the wrong side."

She growled under her breath, partially repelled by this man's obvious inclination toward her even as she was convicted to hang as a traitor.

"What were you and Ohtori planning?" He sat back leisurely in his seat, talking like he was just having a conversation with any other colleague when she knew that this was anything but.

"Nothing that concerns you."

He smirked. "That's alright. You don't have to answer. General Fusawa already has testimony enough to know what you were doing. Overthrowing the Kiran army, ending the war in Narian victory, running off to marry him. Just a few to list." She felt sick to her stomach. Who had told them all of this? She had made sure that she and her colleagues were always alone when they were talking. "Oh… Not to mention more specifically: spying for him, giving him Kiran plans, lying to a superior officer, concealing your gender, interfering in a Kiran operation."

Someone had been spying on _her_. _Her _specifically. That was the only way that they could have known all of these things. The thought made her even sicker. Someone that she probably had once talked to in the camp had given her up. Possibly someone that she trusted.

The twins?

No. No, it couldn't be them. She was too good of a friend. They were her royal guards too. They faced too many pressures from their parents and her father to betray her.

Hunny and Mori?

It was possible. They had known she was a girl. They could have deduced her relationship to the Narian Prince. They were definitely observant enough to figure out what exactly she was doing. She had told them she was Moradian and her plans to try and end the war. But most of all…

They were gone.

They were no longer in camp. And the fact that she couldn't see them to know for sure that they hadn't ratted her out and then ran, was the most criminating thing.

"Silent for once, I see."

"If you already know everything then why do you have to ask me?" she retorted, exhausted. She was tired with living. Worn out from trying to be someone she wasn't for so many months. With trying to pull off three different lives – one with Kyoya, one as a soldier, and yet another as her father's daughter and Tamaki's best friend. She hardly even knew which identity was truly her anymore.

"The only thing that I want to know is why."

She looked over at the Major-General who, to her surprise actually looked curious and like he might be human. Then she stifled a gasp at realizing that it was the very expression she'd had in her Witching Dream from the Exodus Festival. She had somehow mistaken the humane face of Andres Larsen for the empathic expression of Akito's. This… was not how she had imagined things going and she sat up straighter. "Why… what?" she asked cautiously.

"Why would someone like you, best friend of the prince, child of a royal court member, someone with a _future _in military or government affairs, opt to dabble in and conspire in the affairs of the enemy country and utterly destroy that future?"

She was silent. She had never _ever _thought of what she was doing as bad. Never thought about it as destroying her future. Then she laughed. "For that… I refer you to none other than Narian Prince Kyoya Ohtori. But unfortunately, since you literally _burned _one of his closest friends, it seems that you'll never know." He looked confused and she couldn't help smirking. "He knows the answer, because he lives it. He lives to define his own future."

That was her last conversation with the man. Only two days before she died.

~o~

As expected, Tamaki threw a royal fit when he found out. Going so far as to show up at the camp itself to try and spring her free. She couldn't see the Prince, but she could hear him quite clearly, even from the center of camp. When General Fusawa entered her tent and glared, she looked back blankly. "What the hell did you do to the Kiran Prince?"

"You thought you could get away with hanging his best friend without trouble?" she responded in a monotone, without even looking directly at him. She snorted. "You're stupider than I thought."

His face swelled with rage for a moment then disappeared with her next words, "I believe I get a final request."

"Yes," he said, sounding slightly cautious, something that was odd for a man as sure of himself as he was.

"I have two small requests."

"You get one."

"I have _two_," she insisted and continued before he could reassert that she got one. "First, I want to see Tamaki and my father. Alone. And second, I want a promise from you that you will _never _harm or touch my father's person or position in the royal court because of your view of me." She stared him down, a trick that she had learned from Kyoya, until he nodded and looked away.

"Very well. I shall have the Prince brought in."

"And my father."

"Yes." His jaw tightened microscopically in annoyance. He left only to return with Tamaki backing him back into the tent, face enraged and voice raised. She almost took a step back with the realization that this was also one of the faces that she'd seen in her Witching Dream at the Festival. And with that came the realization that she'd foreseen her own death. The noose had been intended for her. Her stomach churned as she turned her attention to the Kiran Prince.

"Tamaki," Haruhi said by way of command. She had to calm him down or she wouldn't be able to think, let alone get him to. He jumped when she reached out and took his hand through the iron bars of her prison. "Leave it…"

"Your father will be along shortly, Marioka," the General said stiffly. She nodded her head at him while Tamaki just gave him a glare. She was quiet as the blonde arranged himself to kneel on the ground in front of the cage, keeping hold of her hand the entire time.

"Are you okay?"

"Did you tell Kyoya?"

His lips turned down slightly in a frown as she mentioned the bespectacled Ohtori. He was obviously upset about everything that concerned the Narian Prince. She closed her eyes as he answered, "Not yet. I'm holding off until you can tell him yourself."

"Tamaki," she huffed, opening her eyes to stare up at the ceiling in annoyance. "You don't understand. I'm _not _going to be able to make it out of this. I can't escape this time. They're going to hang me." She was running out of ways to get through to his thick skull that she was trying to say goodbye to him.

"I won't let them," he insisted.

"_You _can't control them. Dammit. Your father told me _himself _that if the army caught me he wouldn't be able to help. I'm stuck, Tamaki. I'm stuck and there's nothing that you, or dad, or your father, or even Kyoya can do about."

"Namahi," her father's watery voice came from the entrance to the prison tent. She turned her gaze from Tamaki to him. He knelt heavily in front of her, just like Tamaki was, reaching through the bars to cradle his daughter's face in his hand. "My brave little girl."

"Dad," she joked, "Don't get sentimental on me."

"I will," he replied sharply, "I will because I love you. You're my daughter and I love you more than anything in the world. And I'm so proud of you, honey. For everything that you've done. Even if I don't get to watch you get married and I'm never going to have grandchildren, I'm still so proud of the young woman you've become." Tears prickled at her eyes like they were already flowing in hers. "I talked to Yuzuru as soon as I heard."

"He can't do anything."

"Yes, he can. There is one more thing that he can do and the military can't stop him." He stared her in the eye. "He can deport you." Haruhi stared at him, uncomprehending. "He can deport you back to the Narian Moradian territory where we came from."

"But… high treason…"

"Does not matter what the crime is. If you're a legal citizen of Kira but originally were a refugee or foreigner, he's allowed to deport you back to that country for any kind of violation."

Tamaki looked between her and her father. "But she… won't be able to come back."

"I know," Ranka murmured.

"And you'll…"

"I know. I don't care. I just want my daughter safe."

"You'll what…?" Haruhi asked, afraid of the answer. She stared at her dad, who was now avoiding eye contact. "_Faetha… Teuti sha._"

"_Taki… wilt neerka betu aboin toi condus baye._ You… will never be allowed to see me again, Haruhi. Unless… I go with you."

"No," Haruhi said, unable to deal with the thought of her father giving up the position that he had fought so long and hard for. "No. You can't leave. You can't… just… You _belong _in the Kiran royal court."

"The other option is disowning you, and I will _never _do that." Her father had a determined look in his eye. One that didn't falter nor change. "I am too proud of you to disown you. Raising you is my biggest and best accomplishment and I will never let that go."

"But… You didn't do anything wrong! I did! That's not fair! There's got to be another way!" She shuddered to think what Kyoya's father or Akito would do to her father if they learned that he was the Moradian king. "Dad… I don't want you to give up everything here just for me."

"You're my daughter! Haruhi, I've lived long enough. You've just barely begun to. All I want is for you to live. To continue living. And if that means that I have to be deported as well, then I'll do it. If that means going back to a country where my people are mistreated and scorned… I'd rather live like that than live here knowing that my daughter _and _wife are dead."

She stopped. "But… I need someone in the royal court. Kyoya needs you to be in the royal court. Dad…"

"I've made up my mind, Haruhi. We'll be leaving for Nari later tonight."

"No."

"Haruhi…"

"No. I get a choice in this too. And _I _don't want that. I'd rather die than see you treated like a slave or criminal in Nari." She stared hard at him. "Kyoya's never told a soul that I was Moradian _because _he knows how they're treated. He doesn't want that for anyone. Nor do I. Especially not my own father."

Tamaki was scowling. And she glanced at him briefly. He seemed slightly confused, but less so than she would have expected. "We're Moradian, Tamaki. Moradians are trash in Nari. Lower than trash. They aren't allowed citizenship and they definitely aren't allowed on the royal court. Which is another reason why Kyoya and I… We wouldn't work. Even if I wasn't cursed and something _could _arise from it, it wouldn't work." She looked away from him, back to her Dad, taking his hands in hers. "I love you, Dad. That's why I'm not going to let anyone take you away from where you're safe."

She kissed his hands. "If I escape, I'll find some other way. But I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt." Truthfully, her father's plan for her to be deported was probably her only chance save for Kyoya claiming that she was his prisoner. She gazed at Ranka for a moment then switched her eyes to Tamaki. "And you, _Prince Tamaki_, better not get into any trouble. I do _not _want to give your grandmother cause to dethrone you. Behave."

Both of them closed their eyes and Haruhi herself swallowed back her sadness. "Tamaki, I want you to write…" she trailed off, a vague memory of the ring heating up when she first had gotten to camp hitting her mind. "What did Kyoya say?"

"What?"

"He sent me a message when I first got to camp but I forgot to check it. Did you see it?"

"No… But I have the ring with me."

"Do you have paper?" she asked quickly. Her father withdrew a small scrap from his pocket. She went about the receiving procedure to find a small back up of messages from the Narian Prince. Two of them were waiting for her.

_I'd like for you to tell me when you get to Kira. Stay safe and don't take any risks.  
__Kyoya_

_Excellent. If The Witch is involved that just motivates me all the more. I'll get to work. Stay safe.  
__Kyoya_

She stared at them on the paper then closed her eyes, hands shaking. He'd told her twice to stay safe and what did she do? She got herself arrested for treason. "Pen," she mumbled, "I need a pen." Tamaki looked around and then fumbled to grab one sitting on a nearby table and hand it to her. She wrote quickly, afraid that someone was going to walk in on them conspiring and have even more reason to kill her.

_I'm sorry. I tried to, but I couldn't. They got me. They're going to hang me. I… Good luck.  
__Haruhi_

She sent it quickly with tears in her eyes and wrote another, unable to stop herself.

_And by the way… I will. Or I would. I would have married you. I just… I'm sorry. Be careful._

She sent it before she could rethink it, watching the smoky words sink into the glowing stone of the ring and disappear from her sight. She looked up at Tamaki and her father, pushing the paper, pen, and ring at them. "Stay in contact with him, alright? Don't let him do it alone or I'm sure he'll kill himself."

Tamaki nodded and brought her hand to his lips. "For what it's worth… You're my best friend and I'm proud of you too," he murmured as he dropped her hand and stood to leave. He stared at her for a moment with those sad, sad purple eyes. She drowned in them for a moment and then he turned and left the tent, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Bye, Tamaki," she said softly.

"Bye, Namahi." She looked after his hunched form until it disappeared behind the tent flap. She let out a sigh and turned her eyes toward her father. He looked at her sadly. She drew in a deep breath that rattled her ribcage with the sobs that she had been holding for far too long. She kept her hand clasped in her father's, waiting for the moment where he would have to go.

"I love you, Dad," she mumbled, pushing her face between two of the bars separating them.

"Sometimes I wish you weren't so stubborn," he sighed in reply, "But I love you too." He was quiet for a moment then he murmured, "You remind me so much of your mother. She was always the same way: stubborn, passionate. She always knew how to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences."

"I get some of that from you too you know," she muttered with a small smile. He just chuckled and nodded his head.

"You do." More silence enfolded them. Then finally, with a pained look on his face her father said, "I wish I could have given you a proper, normal life. Even if it wasn't in Mora, I wish it could have at least been normal."

"I probably would have ended up marrying Tamaki if that were the case, Dad," she joked half-heartedly. He made a bit of a face at the idea and shook his head. Although he liked the Kiran Prince enough to allow his daughter to be friends with him, he didn't like the idea of him being his son-in-law.

"Ironically… I think I'd actually prefer if you married Kyoya." She blinked a few times then tilted her head at him confused. "And I know that if you had been raised properly and as a female then you never would have met him… So maybe it was a good thing that you were raised the way you were." He paused just to take in her expression which was somewhere between shocked and amused. "He's a good man, Haruhi."

"I know he is." The flap rustled a bit, signaling the entrance of someone. They both looked up to find Larsen standing there with his eyes narrowed at them.

"Time's up," he growled in a low voice. He stood there and waited while Haruhi and Ranka looked at each other.

Her father seemed so pained, so sad. She hated seeing him like that. But she knew it would be worse if she had to see him being mistreated in Nari, so she held firm by her decision to turn down deportation. Her father leaned forward and kissed her nose – the only part of her that he could reach with his lips. She twitched it in reply. "I'm proud of you sweetheart," he whispered to her.

"I'm proud of you too, Dad." He withdrew and stood carefully. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Go live with the Hitachiins if you have to, I don't care. Just don't be too hard on yourself."

"I won't."

"And do as Kyoya said, dammit. Drink that tea and take your medicine."

"I will." He scowled, beginning to look annoyed.

"And Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He squeezed her hand gently and murmured, "I love you too, honey."

~o~

She couldn't sleep. She could never sleep. Especially in Kira. Now it was even worse since she knew that she was about to be killed come daybreak. She stared up at the darkened fabric of the tent roof, seeing shadows of trees flicker over the top of it as they swayed in the summer breeze. She heaved a soft sigh and closed her eyes.

"Oi! Who's there!" one of the guards from outside called.

She sat straight up in her cot. That definitely wasn't normal. They were in the middle of a heavily guarded military camp, practically in the center. No one could have sneaked up on them.

Or could they?

Her hopes soared for a moment then crashed back to the ground as the silhouettes of the guards outside settled back down. No. No one was going to break in and save her. Who would be stupid enough to do that? Unless of course Tamaki…

No. Even he wasn't that stupid. And Kyoya wasn't rash enough to do something like that.

The twins?

No. She'd specifically told them not to do anything.

Why was she even thinking about this? Just because of one guard's mistaken call in the darkness? There was only the slimmest chance that she would make it out alive, and even that chance was so dismally small that it hardly even existed.

There was a crack of a branch outside. Her heart raced as she rose up from her lying position again, ears perked. There was nothing and her heart almost calmed until the flap to the tent entrance moved. A shadowy figure entered and she stared as they started fiddling with the lock. They were short and relatively fit, from their outlines. Another, taller form entered quickly and muttered in deep baritone vocals, "Hurry, Mitsukuni."

Her eyes widened. "Hunny? Mori?" she whispered, surprised as much as shocked. Hadn't she assumed that they were the ones that had given her away? Why the hell were they here now then? "What are you doing here?"

"Tama-_kicsi_ asked us to help you," Hunny replied in a quiet voice. Finally, the man got fed up with trying to pick the lock and muttered something under his breath. His eyes glowed orange for a moment and burned then faded into the darkness again. She scowled. Where had she seen something like that?

"How did he find you?"

"We were nearby the castle. He knew where to look." The lock, smoking fell to the ground. Haruhi couldn't do anything but stare at it in confusion. Hunny swung the door open quickly and motioned to her. The door's creaks cracked through the quietness. "Come on." He held out a hand. She stared at it like it might bite her. "We'll explain everything soon, _come on_."

"Don't have much time," Mori intoned from the flap. She could see him ducking his head out, keeping watch with his keen eyes. She drew in a breath and cautiously took hold of Hunny's hand. Immediately, he pulled her out of the iron barred encasing that surrounded her and out of the tent beside him. She knew better than to ask questions now where they could be heard.

The two led her between tents, weaving in and out, checking for other soldiers whenever they had to be in open ground. Finally, they reached the tent she shared with Hikaru and Kaoru. By now, she knew, both twins would be sound asleep. "Hurry," Mori whispered in her ear, pushing her into the tent. "Gather your things."

She nodded her head, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She entered the tent, not expecting to see Kaoru awake and armed on his bed. In a flash he was up with the knife at her throat. "Kaoru," she whispered, arms instinctively wrapping around her friend's neck.

"Haruhi? How-?"

"Mori and Hunny cut me loose. Be careful, okay?" He nodded. "I'll stay in touch." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek quickly then flitted over to her bed, gathering her few things into a bag. Clothes, two small knives which she slipped into either boot, her sword (which she was surprised to see there considering that she had been deprived of all of weapons when she was arrested). Kaoru passed her some food that they had leftover from dinner and she stuffed it in too. She looked around quickly for anything she might be forgetting then turned to leave.

The younger twin stopped her and pulled her into a hug that she returned. Then he held out his hand to her. Nestled in his palm were a small stone and a few tiny bags stuffed with something. "Your father wanted me to give these to you before you were hung. He said they were your mother's good luck charms and that you should have them." She stared at them a moment then nodded her head and took them from him, pushing them gently into her pocket for later inspection.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"Namahi," Mori called softly into the tent. She looked at the entrance then back at Kaoru. He nodded respectfully to her.

"Until we meet again, Princess," Kaoru whispered, taking her hand and kissing the back of it before letting her leave.

"It will be soon if I have my way," she muttered back, over her shoulder.

"Good luck, Haruhi," Hikaru's voice wafted from his bunk. Haruhi smiled as she disappeared from their view, out of the tent and after Mori and Hunny.

~o~

Once a good mile or two from camp the cousins stopped her. She turned to them expectantly. "I thought you were the ones that ratted me out," she said by way of explaining her surprise at seeing them. Hunny shook his head while Mori merely smirked slightly. "Why did you leave then?"

Hunny swallowed slowly then murmured, "Let's keep walking. I'll explain while we go." She nodded her head and let them lead her down a southeastern road. Hunny was quiet for a long time, then her said, "Takashi and I are Gratweny. But we're also supposedly Narian spies." She looked at them sharply. "We lived in Nari in hiding for a while until it got too hard. Takashi's mother was killed in an accident and he and his little brother, Satoshi, were sent to my family by his father. To prevent suspicion of our families, Takashi and I decided to enroll in the Narian army where we were sent to Kira to permanently spy. We created lives for ourselves here and after a year we actually were able to join the army."

She tilted her head, not quite understanding. "Who… exactly… do you work for?"

"First Prince Yuiichi Ohtori," Mitsukuni said quietly. Her eyes widened and she had to stop just to stare at them without tripping.

"Kyoya's brother?"

"Yes," Mori intoned his own say into the story. She almost expected him to explain more, but he didn't.

"Is that why…? Tamaki _and _Yuiichi both asked you to free me?"

"No. Tama-_kicsi_ hinted at us trying to help you but couldn't order anything outright. Yuiichi did the same because of how your news was affecting his brother, however, he didn't want to interfere. That was only part of it though. Were it only for that, then we wouldn't have acted."

Her mouth curled down in a frown. "I'm a seer," Mori said and those three words made her stand straighter and her muscles stiffen just in shock. She stared at him but he just nodded his head solemnly. Seer. She'd only heard that word once, when she was little and Yuzuha had been telling her an old story. It was a rare power. As rare if not rarer as Tamaki's mother's power to control water, which was ironically what made her so sick. But it wasn't genetic like other magic. It couldn't be passed down. It just struck someone randomly.

Seer's power had been sought after for generations. The ability to know any possible futures as they happened as well as the futures that were concrete was tremendously powerful. Even a Witch couldn't see that through Witching Dreams. Witches saw only possible futures and only snippets at that. That was why her Dreams were always so vague. But seers… Seers saw it all. Whether they wanted to or not.

"You weren't meant to die, Haru-_kicsi_. Not then. Takashi and I originally left because the Kiran army was beginning to catch on to us like they were to you. Takashi saw that it wasn't safe anymore. And… Just before we came, after Tamaki had talked to us, Takashi had a premonition."

"More like prophecy," Mori interjected quickly.

"You weren't meant to die, Haru-_kicsi_. And that's why we saved you."

"What was meant to happen to me then?" she asked.

Mori's face screwed up out of his normally passive expression into one of reprimanding. "We can't tell you that," Hunny said quietly, "The future isn't meant to be seen, Haru-_kicsi_. Not even by seers. That's why the power is so rare."

"We can tell you the prophecy later," Mori said, passive expression back in place. Hunny nodded in affirmation. She sighed, one more question plaguing her mind.

"What did you do to the lock? I don't think I've ever seen that kind of magic."

Hunny grinned suddenly, and even through the darkness that she had vaguely seen their expressions, his teeth gleamed. "Fire elemental," he said mischievously. She nodded quickly in understanding, not needing to ask any more. He had literally melted the lock on the inside to make it open. That much she could understand now. It also explained why he was always so warm when he hugged her. "If I draw from the elemental energy I can also do normal stuff," he added, "Freezing's a bit difficult but I can make it work."

She nodded again, no more questions coming to mind. Then she heard it. The dreadful bell coming from far off. The one that signaled that a prisoner had escaped. Mori acted quickly and said, "Run to Pait."

"We'll try to lead them away from you. Once we're across the Narian border they won't bother coming to look for us anyway, but you need to get to Pait as soon as you possibly can. Don't stop until you get there. We'll meet you at the Narian palace, understand?"

She nodded her head quickly and they took off running in the opposite direction that she was heading, disappearing over a hill in a matter of seconds. She took a moment to process before starting to run herself, expending all of the energy she had in her sleepless body into pushing herself farther and farther from camp. Her pack bounced against her back and her mother's good luck charms shifted around in her pocket as she ran but she didn't pay any attention to them.

She was out of breath a few miles later and slowed to a walk.

And the running-walking intervals continued that way all the way to Pait, when she finally figured it was safe enough to rest for a moment. The mountains of the small country were relatively safe compared to the forest to the north. She plopped down under one of the few trees, watching as the sun drifted further down in the sky. It would get dark soon. Not too soon though. She still had enough time to get to the Paitet palace, assuming that she could _find _it.

Truthfully, she'd only ever seen Pait's capital on a map. She'd never even been in the country for that matter. It was somewhere smack dab in the middle of the mountains though. She knew that.

So she sat there under that tree and tried to get her bearings while simultaneously trying to catch her breath. Finally, just as she was ready to go, she heard the loud _clatter _of rocks shifting. She jumped and turned around.

Was it possible that she'd been followed?

No. That couldn't be. And why would they follow her across the Paitet border? She shrugged it off as paranoia and continued walking on her way.

But then she heard it again. This time it was a branch breaking against the rock of the mountain. She turned again and thought that she saw a large shadow out of the corner of her eye. But it was gone the second that she tried to look at it more closely. "Mori? Hunny?" she called out, apprehension gnawing at her stomach while she also hoped that it was her two friends.

She stayed there, looking behind her for a moment then shook her head and started walking again, though she did draw her sword just in case.

The third time she heard the clatter of stones along with the pounding of footsteps. _Running _footsteps. And they weren't human either. She whirled around just in time to see a huge litriad lunging at her. She let out a gasp and dove to the side, feeling its body whip past her, claws almost snagging her legs on the way. She scrambled back to her feet and ran as fast as she could, any fatigue she had felt previously gone. She had lost her sword, but didn't mind that as she ran for her life. One bite from that thing would cause pain so terrible that it would paralyze her.

What the hell was a _litriad _doing in the _mountains_?

Her only explanation was that the Kiran army had succeeded in training at least some of them and had sent this one after her.

And then, to her horror, another one appeared.

What made _her _so important that they dispatched _two _litriads just to kill her?

Flashes of her time with both Kyoya and Tamaki flashed through her head as the second one lunged at her. She ducked and took the opportunity to draw one of her knives from her boot, stabbing it swiftly in the stomach on its way past her. It howled in pain, which seemed to only make the first one angrier.

She huffed with annoyance and kept running. She attempted to stab both of them whenever she could but knew that eventually they'd break through her defenses and catch her.

And then she'd be litriad food.

Not the most pleasant way to die.

And then, to her immense relief, she saw a town over a small hill. She yelled as she dodged another litriad lunge. More memories broke through the barrier of her mind, the most surprising being the last kiss that she and Kyoya had shared.

She sucked in a breath and stumbled a bit.

That was the only chance that the litriads needed. One grabbed her left leg in its jaws while the other prowled to her side. She screamed as litriad poison hit her flesh, instantly causing it to burn with agonizing slowness. She stabbed the one at her side a few times and it howled in pain. The one on her leg bit down harder.

She screamed again, tears now falling down her cheeks. The second came back and this time lunged for her chest, where her heart was. She raised her hand and stabbed it in the chest before it reached hers, effectively killing it.

The pain in her leg was unbearable. Darkness started to spot her vision.

The litriad's grip on her leg loosened and she vaguely heard it yowl with pain as it reared back because of some unknown force. She heard swishing, Narian yells, and assumed it was a dream that she was drifting into.

A shadow moved over her just as the darkness consumed her, a final word coming from her lips, "Kyoya…"

~o~

**A/N: You all didn't actually think I was going to kill her by HANGING did you? NO! THAT DOES HER NO JUSTICE! THIS IS **_**HARUHI **_**WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. **

**Ahem… This one is actually almost 6500 words… And well written if I do say so myself. It seems that my best work comes when I feel like my brain's only half-functioning. This is also my attempt to integrate Hunny and Mori into the story more, as requested. **

**SO! I've been home from school sick with an unknown illness for two weeks. Besides schoolwork, reading, and sleeping, I have nothing else to do. Thus, this appears only a week later! YAAAAY! (I haven't even been to my second semester classes yet… This kind of saddens me.) **

**Kudos to: Goldpen, Nessie-san, Shizuka, isara-love, Obscurity Within Mercy, WonderingStarNightmare117 and Koharu Veddette! **

**Ugh. I am so tired. Megs go sleep now. (Again.) **


	28. 26: Awakening

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 26 – Awakening_

Kyoya could only stare at her with a lump in his throat. Just days ago he had thought she was going to die. When that proved wrong, she got attacked by a litriad instead and was almost killed by the pain. Now, she was sleeping quite peacefully, face actually started to get its color back.

He tried not to imagine the blood-stains that had been on the sheets and her clothes just a day ago, but it was something that he couldn't do. And he tried desperately not to hear the screams that echoed in his mind, but that was also something that he couldn't prevent.

Yuiichi had told him exactly 3 days ago that he had his own spies in the Kiran military that might be able to help her. He had doubted that they would do it. And give away their own cover? That was almost laughable. Haruhi was the only goddamn spy he knew that would be stupid enough to give up herself in order to help someone else.

Haruhi.

He looked back at her and she shifted restlessly in her sleep, a soft moan coming from her lips.

He actually hoped that she wasn't waking up. Because he wasn't sure what she would remember, if anything, of what had happened to her. He hoped that she didn't. It was something that _he _didn't want to remember, so it had to be at least twice as bad for her to.

Then her eyes peeped open a bit to look at him blearily and his hopes scattered. "Kyoya?" she mumbled, still drugged with sleep. He nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak. "What happened?"

He swallowed and tried to moisten his suddenly dry mouth. He couldn't explain yet, couldn't bear to. So instead he opened his mouth and murmured, "How do you feel?"

She frowned a bit in confusion and it looked like it took her a moment to fully process what he was saying as well as think about her answer. "Sleepy. Numb. Confused. How did I get here exactly?"

He latched onto the 'numb' with a bit of relief. That meant that she wasn't in pain. That was good. "Some villagers from a nearby town brought you to the Paitet palace," he answered her question, somehow without wincing. Her frown deepened in a way that he couldn't deny being cute. He could just hear her next question before it even came out of her mouth. But instead of voicing it, her eyes cleared a bit and she gasped in pain. He sat up straighter, having prepared himself for this but not quite wanting it to happen yet.

"Why… Why can't I feel my leg? And why the hell does it hurt so badly?" Her eyes filled with tears and he leaned forward enough to take her hand. He squeezed it and she looked up at him, lost. She was lost. She'd lost all memory of what had happened to her. "K-Kyoya?"

He shut his eyes and let himself lean his head against hers. "You were attacked," he finally said after a few moments, swallowing back his anxiety, "by a litriad." She sucked in a breath but he forced himself to continue. "It was a Kiran-trained one and… it bit your left leg. By the time you got to the palace… The poison… The poison had advanced too far up your leg. Magical detox would have killed you and it couldn't be sucked out. So…" He couldn't finish and instead withdrew from her, pulled back the sheet covering her legs and sat back to watch her reaction.

She stared at her lower half like Kyoya now refused to. "W-What?" she managed to get out of her muddled mind. She couldn't quite process what she was seeing. He sighed and glanced at the leg and a half that she now had.

"I arrived just in time to authorize them to amputate," he said stiffly. She stared at him, looking like she didn't recognize him for a moment. "It was the only way to save your life, Haruhi."

"No… I… I know that. But…" Her face screwed up, either in pain or grief for her lost leg, he wasn't sure. "I won't walk again, will I? I'll be stuck in a wheelchair like Akito."

"Not exactly," he mused, "Despite the fact that you're missing about half of your left leg, the half that you have left and your right leg are completely functional. Or will be once you've recovered. We can have a false ordered for you and from there Yuiichi and I can work with you until you walk again."

"But I'll still be in a wheelchair."

He sighed softly and leaned toward her again. "For awhile, yes. Or crutches, if you'd prefer." She seemed to be thinking better than she had when she first woke up. She gasped again and shifted in bed. "Painful?" he questioned, standing and leaning over her to inspect her wound. Bile rose in his throat briefly at the sight of her bloodied bandages. He swallowed it down. He hummed. "Could use a bandage change," he muttered, "I'll be back shortly."

He wracked his brain for the proper medicine he could give her to at least take the edge off. Finally he put a kettle on and took a small vial from the back room of the Paitet infirmary. He placed a few herbs on the counter to make into tea later and carried the vial and some clean bandages out to his waiting companion.

He could tell she was trying her hardest not to cry. He stood beside her, smoothed her hair back from her eyes. "Haruhi," he murmured, "I'm going to change your bandages, okay?" She nodded. He did as he said, trying not to hurt her much more than she already was. "Clove oil," he said when he went to apply it, "Might sting a bit but it'll help."

She just nodded again, wincing and gasping when the pain got to be enough. He rewrapped her leg gently and withdrew his hands, taking off the gloves. "Done. I'll make you some tea when the water's ready." He sat himself back in the chair and waited to hear the whistle that would tell him the water was ready.

"What'll be in the tea?" she asked, already starting to calm.

"White willow bark and meadowsweet." He took her hand, squeezing it tightly once more. She smiled a bit. "In the meantime…" he trailed off when she tugged at his hand. He moved closer in response until she could reach his head, pulling him down and kissing him. It surprised him but in the short lifespan of the kiss, he felt everything that she felt. The pain, her confusion, even the apology that she was about to give him.

"What I said about marrying you…"

He nearly laughed bitterly when she trailed off and pulled away from her quickly. "Let me guess. You thought you were going to die and told me that you would to give me closure. Now, you don't really mean it."

She frowned at him and squeezed his hand tighter when he tried to pull it out of his grasp. "No," she said, shaking her head, "No, Kyoya. I meant it. I _would _marry you… if circumstances were different."

"What circumstances?" She sighed. And he vaguely heard the kettle whistle, signaling that the water for her tea was ready. He scowled and went into the back room once more, making her tea with an almost angry manner. He returned and put the cup on the bedside table.

"Kyoya," she said, "I'm Moradian. I'm a Witch. I'm a Kiran fugitive. Most of all though, I'm cursed." She drew in a breath and mumbled, "Kyoya, look at me. I don't want you to misunderstand… Were circumstances different I _would _marry you but as it is now, I can't."

He was quiet for a long while then he picked up the tea, placed it gently in her hands and asked, "Can't or won't, Haruhi?" He didn't wait to hear a reply. He didn't want to hear it. Because he already knew the answer.

~o~

His sister was the one that found him nearly an hour later in the library, hunched over a book, still angrily flipping the pages. She put a hand on his shoulder but he didn't even jump. "Kyoya," she murmured, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" he retorted, claiming innocence.

"Haruhi's upset."

"Really now? Seems to me that she has no reason to be. She's not the one that she blatantly refused to marry an hour ago."

"Kyoya… Every woman has her reasons."

"I don't know how much clearer I have to make it that those reasons aren't relevant to the situation."

"As a woman, that's insulting," Fuyumi said, scowling at him. "It's relevant to the way that _she _sees the situation."

"My intentions are purely innocent. I need to be married by the time I turn 22, or at least engaged. She's the only person I'd even be inclined to do so with. Seems simple enough."

"Did she tell you why she wouldn't?"

"The circumstances. She blamed it purely on the circumstances. Which, to me, do not seem relevant since I couldn't give a damn about whether or not she's cursed, Moradian, a Kiran fugitive, _or _a Witch." He blurted it without meaning to and silently cursed himself for doing so afterward.

Fuyumi's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Seems like reason enough for me." He glared at her and she smiled slyly. "Kyoya… You know that if Father knew any of that then there was no way that he'd let you marry her."

"Fuyumi," he said blankly, "Father is asleep. He may never wake up. And I could have sworn that being the third son meant that I could almost do anything I damn well pleased because there's no way that I'll get the throne."

"Kyoya… If she's Moradian… There's no way that-."

"I don't care. That's why I haven't told anyone. Why _we_ haven't told anyone. You only know now because it slipped out of my mouth. You wouldn't know looking at her that she's Moradian. Hell, Eastern Moradians look enough like Narians that it's pretty damn hard to tell them apart on sight. You only know that they're actually Moradian when they speak the language and don't know a word of Narian."

"That doesn't change that fact that she's Moradian… Wait… How the hell does she know Narian and Kiran?"

"Grew up in Kira. Only knows Moradian because her father taught it to her while they were living there. Narian too. But that's not the point-."

"How does her _father _know Kiran _and _Narian?"

"Fuyumi… Goddammit. It's _complicated_. I can't explain. That is beside the point though. I don't want to marry some freaking countess or… duchess that Father picks out for me. Most of them-."

"Kyoya, do you remember when I married Fuko?" his sister interrupted quickly. He stared at her. What kind of a question was that?

"Of course. It isn't like I was a little kid, Fuyumi. I was 13."

"Do you remember when Akito was married?"

"Fuyumi, this is hardly relevant. That was only 3 years ago."

"How about Yuiichi?" she continued insistently.

He scowled. "Yes. How is any of this relevant?"

"All of our marriages were arranged, Kyoya. And all of us ended up in love with our spouses."

Kyoya snorted. "I would hardly constitute Akito as being in love with Sachi."

"He was! They didn't always get along but he _was _in love with her Kyoya!"

"What's your point, Fuyumi?"

"My point? My goddamn _point _is that Fuko and I were put in an arranged marriage and we _love _each other, Kyoya! Same with Yuiichi and Mayuri, and Akito and Sachi. We all grew to love and respect the people we were set up with." He raised a single eyebrow, unimpressed. "An arranged marriage _can _work, dammit!"

"I… don't want one."

"Haruhi refuses to marry you because she doesn't want to hurt you." He looked up at her. "She doesn't want to hurt you or your status as Prince. She doesn't want you to lower your standards for her."

"Lowering my- _Lowering my standards_?" he repeated, incredulous, "She is _above _my standards! It's _father's _damn standards that she's worrying about."

"Then _tell _her that! Dammit, Kyoya." She stared at him hard then softened her gaze with her next question, "Do you love her?"

"No. Loving her would constitute feelings that wouldn't be possible or good for either of us. I care… about her. She challenges me and I like that."

"Tell her that too!"

"Fuyumi… You don't understand what any of this could entail." She raised an eyebrow in defiance and he said bluntly, "If I fall in love with her, then she has to kill me. It's her curse."

"Did you know that next month would have been Mom and Dad's 42nd anniversary?" He frowned and shook his head at the random fact that she now jumped at him. He had never known exactly how long his parents had been married. Then his frown deepened as he did the math and realized how old each of them had been. "Mom was only 15. Dad was 18. She told me that when I got engaged to Fuko at 15, because I was absolutely terrified, Kyoya. She told me that she was 15 when she was forced to _marry_ Father though and I… It made everything seem better. I was older than she had been; in fact Fuko was younger than _me_. I had no reason to be afraid. And he was a good man. He _is _a good man. "

His chest deflated. How had he never known any of this? Perhaps he had just assumed that they had chosen to be married because they had always seemed to be so happy when he had observed them when he was little. That combined with the fact that they hadn't had Yuiichi until his mother was 25 was enough evidence for him to believe that they had married in their twenties. He swallowed and Fuyumi continued softly, "You know what else she told me?"

"Hmm?"

"The Tribal-Filandrian war… Their marriage ended it." He blinked, confusion plastering against his brain for a moment until he finally made the connection.

"Mother was Tribal?"

"The only Princess, Kyoya. Her brother is now the leader of the main tribe. The only thing that keeps him from attacking Filandria in anger at Mom's death is us – her children." She looked at him with a small smile of pride at her mother. "All the Filandrian countries took the Prince they had that was closest to Mom's age and Grandfather let Mom choose. Mom chose Dad. He hated her for it."

"Why?"

"He was in love with Yuzuru's now ex-wife." Kyoya choked on air.

"You're kidding."

"No. I'm not." She smirked in amusement as he stared at her in disbelief. "It took them 8 years, Kyoya. Eight years. And then they had Yuiichi after ten."

"I still can't believe Mother told you everything."

"Not everything… Just… She wanted me to be able to tell you, Akito, and Yuiichi someday. I think somehow she knew that she wasn't going to live long enough to tell the three of you herself."

Something clicked in his mind as soon as she said that. "How would she have known?" he demanded. He thought about it and then murmured, "Unless someone was threatening her specifically." He felt sick. His mother had been murdered and no one had been able to solve it for years. No one had thought to see if anyone had been threatening her. "Someone had to be threatening her."

"Kyoya… You're over-thinking things." He looked at his sister and shook his head. "My point in telling you this wasn't to get you thinking about Mom's death again. You're ready to marry and I know you're going to make a wonderful husband. I'm just trying to prove to you that even if you don't get to marry Haruhi like you want to, there _are _other options. It's not going to be the end of the world."

He drew in a sigh. "But for God's sake, Kyoya. If you want to be with her that badly then you need to tell her. Even then, if she still refuses then you have to respect her wishes."

"The Filandrian-Tribal War. Damn," he muttered to himself, still not quite believing it. And yet his father had still entered into another war just 22 years later. Fuyumi, her point having been made, stood and squeezed his shoulder before heading toward the entrance of the library.

She stopped after a few feet and turned back to him, a soft smile on the features that looked so much like his mother's. "By the way, Kyoya… I think Mom would have approved of Haruhi."

He drew in a deep breath as her footsteps faded away, processing the information that he'd just been given. Finally, he stood and left.

~o~

When he entered the infirmary, Haruhi was staring at the ceiling. She looked over at him as he strode in. Her expression dimmed slightly. "Kyoya… I'm sorry."

"Don't," he said, "Haruhi, don't. I apologize for overreacting and will respect your wishes."

"I really would. But… I don't-."

"I know. You don't want to hurt me or my status or any of that. Just a thought though… Have you ever thought that I might not care about any of that?"

"One of us has to or we'd end up dead. So I do."

He sighed and shook his head, changing the subject before she got the chance to continue with it. "How is the pain?"

"Painful," she retorted, though he was pleased that she actually sounded a bit more like herself than she had earlier.

"How bad?"

"Can I have some more of that tea?" He chuckled at her expression which hedged between cute sheepishness and actual serious pain. He nodded and leaned over swiftly to press his lips to her forehead.

"I'll be right back."

~o~

"Kyoya?" she asked in the carriage on the way to the Narian Palace a few days later. Neither of them were really used to seeing her amputated leg out in the open yet, so she was covered in a blanket. He was reading.

He looked up. "Yes, Haruhi?"

"Are you mad at me?"

He licked his lips then murmured, "No. No, I'm not. Why would I be?"

She was quiet for a moment then she said, "I… kind of rejected you… Twice."

"Doesn't mean I'm angry. You have your reasons. And however much I might disagree with them, that doesn't mean that I won't respect them all the same. Why would you think I was angry in the first place?"

"You've just been… Quiet the past few days. It worried me."

"Just thinking," he replied, eyes inching back toward his book. She smiled and carefully maneuvered herself to switch seats to his side of the carriage, seating herself directly next to him. He stiffened slightly as she put her head on his shoulder but forced himself to relax almost immediately as to not alarm her.

"About what?" she mumbled tiredly. The carriage ran over a bump in the road and she winced.

"My parents."

"Why?"

He sighed and looked at her. "Fuyumi gave me some… interesting information about them the other day. Next month would have been their 42nd anniversary apparently. And their marriage ended the Filandrian-Tribal War. And Mother was only 15." Haruhi hummed and slipped her hand into the one of his that wasn't holding his book. He sighed. "Do you need something specific?"

She shrugged, but that only made him more curious. He set his book aside. "Haruhi… What is it?" Something was obviously bothering her. Though it bothered him that she wouldn't just say it. It also bothered him that she was being awfully affectionate for someone that had turned down his proposal to marry her just a few days ago. She didn't look at him, just pushed her face into his shoulder. "Haruhi?"

"It hurts," she mumbled into his shirt. Her grip on his hand tightened, nails almost digging into his palm. He drew in a breath and wrapped an arm around her. He'd never been particularly good in the comfort area but he did as he always did for Yuki and pulled her close to him. He didn't have any medicine with him, nor did he have a way to administer it to her anyway.

"I'm sorry I did this to you," he murmured after a moment.

"You didn't."

"I authorized it."

"You saved my life." She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. "Kyoya… You saved my life. Again. That's four times, you realize that?" She sighed and let her head fall back to his shoulder in exhaustion. "And I'll never ever be sorry for that. For knowing you." Her breathing evened out and soon enough she was asleep. He supposed it was best. Sleep would help her recover faster, help keep her from feeling pain. Besides, they had a good three or four hours before they would arrive home. He placed his head on top of the woman in his arms' and figured that it would be safe enough to get a nap of his own in.

~o~

The two woke when they were thrown to the floor of the carriage as it came to a precarious halt. Kyoya blinked sleep from his eyes while Haruhi cried out in pain from her leg getting bumped. A yell from the carriage driver, Aijima, a moment later caused Kyoya to push himself up and out the door, sword drawn.

"What the hell is going on out here?" he demanded.

"_Oh look… A Narian Prince strayed from his home." _He didn't react to the Moradian language being spoken by the men that had stopped his carriage, just rolled his eyes.

"_If you'll please move aside and free my driver. My friend is sick and needs to get home immediately,"_ he growled in their language, angry both from being woken and from this small band of men's attempt to hold up his ride home. He heard Haruhi cry inside the carriage. _"And I believe you've just injured her further." _He scowled at the Moradians before him, trying to get them to move just by sheer force of will.

"Kyoya!" Haruhi called from inside the carriage. He turned for a moment to look back into the carriage. "What's going on?"

"Just a small hold up with some Moradians," he said back, "Stay there, I can take care of it." He turned back to the band of six men in front of him. _"Please let us pass. She'll need medical attention sooner rather than later." _One of them spat at his feet and Kyoya had to put a tongue in cheek just to make sure he didn't lunge forward and stab the man to death.

"_Why would we care if your lady-friend dies?" _one asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"_Because she's like you?" _he retorted, his scowl slowly becoming replaced with a look of weariness.

"_We doubt that," _the apparent ringleader claimed.

"_By order of the Moradian Princess, let us pass," _Haruhi's voice appeared from the carriage door. Kyoya turned and saw her standing on her one good leg in the doorway, wincing every few seconds.

"Haruhi," he said softly, "Go sit down. You shouldn't be up."

"I can help," she replied without looking at him. Then to the men she said, _"Well? Move aside. I highly doubt that my father would be pleased to know that you stopped the carriage taking me to safety when I'm in this state." _She gestured to her leg.

"_Moradian Princess? Right." _

"_You're forgetting that she died though." _

"_Was slaughtered by Narian soldiers."_

"_Seems more like a Narian Prince's lover, to me." _

Their grumbles echoed around the group and Haruhi scowled a bit. _"He's never done anything to any of you," _Haruhi said then she turned her tired eyes to Kyoya and added, _"He's better than his father. And one day when he's King I'm sure that he'll bring Moradian equality to Nari." _

A few of the men snorted and one even spat at _her _feet. Haruhi's ice cold gaze shot to him. _"I don't want to use force," _she said angrily, _"I don't want bloodshed." _

"_You have no guards, lady." _

She sighed and looked at Kyoya. "Where are my old clothes? The ones I was wearing when I got to Pait?"

"Back at the castle. I searched them and threw them out. There was too much blood on them," he said, looking puzzled.

"There was something in my pockets… A stone and some packets?" He nodded in realization and gently pushed past her back into the carriage to rummage through his luggage while she stared at the men. They stared back at her curiously.

"_You'll notice that unlike him-" _she jerked her head back toward Kyoya _"-I have no accent. Narian or otherwise." _Finally Kyoya returned and she took the stone in her hands. Acting completely on instinct without really knowing what she was doing, she cupped it in her hands, whispering under her breath until it glowed. She smiled at it as it showed a gently shifting picture of her parents on the surface of the small stone. She drew in a breath, sensing Kyoya looking over her shoulder. "That's why she called it her good luck charm," she muttered to herself as the picture changed to one of her as a baby. "Help me get closer to them."

Kyoya swallowed and though he really didn't want to get her any closer to these men that probably wanted nothing more than to kill them, he obeyed by picking her up carefully and carrying to up to the ring leader. The man looked unimpressed with the picture of the baby until if changed to the Moradian seal and he jumped back and bowed immediately.

"_I apologize for disrupting your trip," _he said in a thick voice, stepping back while the other men stared at her like she had hypnotized their leader. She silently put the stone away and swallowed.

"_Thank you," _she mumbled, leaning her head against Kyoya's chest as he carried her back into the carriage. Their disgruntled driver climbed back up to his post.

"_Wait," _one of the men called just before Kyoya closed the door. _"Who is she?" _

Kyoya smirked and nodded his head at them. _"The woman who's going to save you all." _

Though none of them really seemed very satisfied with that answer they let them go while Haruhi, sitting in the carriage, her body angled against Kyoya's as she tried not to cry, looked at them through the small window until they were gone. Her companion's arm tightened around her. "Good job," he murmured.

"Are they always like that?" she asked hesitantly. "So… cold and cruel."

"I'm not really sure. That's the first time I haven't been with my father down here. Seems like it's lucky that you were with me. They probably would have killed me without a second thought."

"They're just angry," she said softly, "Your father took everything from them. Their own culture has practically been stamped out."

"I know." He sighed and pulled her closer. "He's a bastard like that. Destroyed your life too if I remember correctly."

She shrugged. "He didn't singlehandedly do it. My grandmother played her part too. I don't mind though. Growing up in Kira wasn't that bad. In fact I think it was actually pretty good." He hummed under his breath in thought. "I can go back to sleep now, right?" she asked. He nodded. "Good." He chuckled as she pulled up the blanket around her and snuggled up against him. He returned to his book, noting that they were now heading directly north and now had approximately two hours till they got home.

~o~

Kyoya had just set a sleeping Haruhi down on the bed when Yuiichi entered the room. He quickly brought a silencing finger to his lips and gently pushed past his brother into the hallway. "Father's awake," Yuiichi said, immediately sending apprehension striking into the younger's heart.

"Alright," he muttered after a moment.

"Akito's with him."

Kyoya let out a short growl. He was no doubt telling their father all about his small span as King as well as Haruhi. And no doubt he was making it seem as bad as possible. "What's he saying?"

"What do you think?" Yuiichi asked. The younger ran a hand through his hair and grunted in frustration. "How's Haruhi?"

"Lost a leg and in a lot of pain, but she's alright otherwise. She's sleeping."

"Yuki's been dying to see her."

"Probably wouldn't be best… At least not until Haruhi gets her prosthetic leg."

"What happened exactly?"

"She escaped from the army only to be attacked by a litriad before she could reach Pait. Two litriads actually… I'm surprised she survived, honestly."

"You know Father's going to want to know you're engaged…"

"We aren't. She won't marry me. She's too afraid."

"Why is she afraid? She seems to like you well enough…"

"Yuiichi she's… complicated. She's afraid that she'll hurt me. That I'll fall in love with her or she'll ruin my status and other stuff like that, that I don't really care about." He scowled and looked away from his brother. "I'm guessing that _Uherfa _wants to see me?"

"Soon, yes."

Kyoya somehow refrained from swearing. Considering his internal feelings toward his father the last few weeks, he didn't want to accidentally lose his temper. He nodded his head at Yuiichi and, frowning, turned back into his bedroom.

Haruhi was somehow fully awake and stared at him questioningly as he came into the room. He knew she wanted to know what had happened. She always wanted to know. "My father's awake, Haruhi," he said quietly. "Would you allow Yuiichi to give you your tea while I go see him?" She just nodded and he strode over to her. He looked down at her silently, contemplating in his own mind.

"What are you going to tell him about me?"

"That you got into an accident with a litriad. No need to say anything more." His fingers brushed her hair out of her eyes gently as he thought. Then he sighed and added, "He's going to expect that I'm engaged, Haruhi."

"I already told you-."

"I know. That doesn't change the fact that he's going to expect it. I hate it too." He was silent for a moment as he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. She slipped her hand into his and sighed a bit. "I don't know what I'm going to do about that."

"Just… Tell him…" She drew in a breath and then muttered in a voice soft enough that he almost couldn't hear her, "Tell him that we are." He stared at her. "It'll save problems and later, after the war, we can say it didn't work out."

"You'll need a ring." She shrugged. He swallowed then leaned over her, pressing his lips to hers gently. "You're sure you can handle pretending something else?"

She nodded. "It's significantly easier knowing that I don't have to worry about the Kiran army anymore," she mumbled. Her lips brushed against his, something that he just barely stopped himself from reacting to. He blinked and stood. "You should go." He nodded and let himself out of the room, leaving her to sleep.

"Yuiichi," he said, poking his head into his brother's bedroom. The older Ohtori raised an eyebrow. "Give Haruhi her tea, please. Meadowsweet and white willow bark. I'm going to see Father." Yuiichi nodded once and let him leave.

And then all at once he was standing in front of her father's bedroom, somewhere that he hadn't been in at least three weeks if not more. He took a deep breath and knocked before entering the dragon's lair itself.

~o~

**A/N: Seems like a good enough place to stop. Teehee. Anyone surprised? Also… It just occurred to me to ask, but how does everyone do with the length of chapters? I know that some people like short and others like long. Personally, I'm a lengthy person. That is not dirty. **

**Errrrr… Anyway. This is my second chapter this month… Finished before I even sent the last one to Koharu. I guess this will just ensure that I update once a month if I have a backup of chapters. **

**Kudos to: BlackRose, lilsketcher617, WonderingStarNightmare117, Goldpen, Victoria5624, Magpie09, isara-love, RinHikari, and The Last Fallen Angel. **

**Anywho. This is 13 pages. Love me, yes. And I apologize since it seems to me that Kyoya is slightly out of character. Blargh. **


	29. 27: Father and Son

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 27 – Father and Son_

His father hardly even glanced at him before turning back to his conversation with Akito. He felt his hand clench in a fist in irritation. He still wondered why Akito always thought that he was more liked by their family when he never even got looked at by their father. Finally, the elder brother bowed his head at Yoshio and said, "Yes, Father." He wheeled past him with a smirk.

Kyoya glared at him until he left his line of vision then he looked at his father. "Your brothers tell me that you were acting King in my absence."

The youngest merely nodded his head in confirmation. "Yuiichi did not feel as though he could rationally lead following Mayuri's death and Akito was close to mortally wounded as well as emotionally compromised from Sachi's passing. I was the last rational choice."

"You sustained no injuries of your own?"

"No. Nor Haruhi or I were hurt." He seemed to be suspicious. "Father… I achieved the position of Filandrian Hand-to-Hand Combat Champion at the most recent Exodus Festival. Tied with a Kiran Corporal for it. I can defend myself."

His father merely hummed. "I'm interested to know about Haruhi. Are you engaged to her yet?"

He swallowed. She had told him to say that they were, but he didn't want her to be stuck marrying him if his father acted out of turn and arranged for the wedding too quickly. He didn't want to go against her wishes when she'd already told him no. "… No," he finally murmured. "She… does not wish to marry yet. She's rather independent and would like to remain so for the time being."

His father snorted and Kyoya looked up from the bloodstain on the floor that his eyes had strayed to. Yoshio was scowling. "Women need to know their place, Kyoya. If she does not want to marry you, then I do not want her living with you in the castle."

Kyoya felt a lump in his throat and quickly argued his point, "With all due respect, _Uherfa_, Haruhi's independence is one of the things that intrigues me about her. I would like for her to come around in her own time. Besides her current injury should not be left unattended, as much as she hates actually needing someone to take care of her."

"Injury?"

"She… lost her leg, Father. Surely Yuiichi told you about it."

"How?"

"An accident with a litriad. She's lucky to have survived."

"Her family can take care of her."

"Her family is actually… preoccupied at the moment. She's only here because of that."

"I won't allow her to stay here, Kyoya."

"And why not? I believe I've given reason enough."

"She's not who she says she is." Kyoya stopped and stared at him, wondering now exactly what Akito had told their father. "She isn't Haruhi Fari because Haruhi Fari doesn't exist. And I'd like to see her to confirm her identity before I throw her out."

"Father, she isn't well… And at the moment is sleeping."

"Then go wake her and bring her here." He opened his mouth then shut it again, knowing that it was pointless to argue with a bitter old man that was used to getting his own way.

"Yes, Father," he muttered, bowing a bit out of sure spite. He left, running into Yuiichi on his way. "He wants to see Haruhi. Goddammit." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and growled under his breath.

"I just gave her the tea. She probably hasn't even gotten the chance to drink it," the older replied. He nodded and thanked his brother before disappearing into his bedroom. Haruhi was curled up, half asleep. He scowled. This wasn't really necessary. He could have waited until she was awake and well to interrogate her. If anything, this just caused him to be more irritated with his father. Regardless, he sat on the edge of the bed next to her and stroked her hair until she woke up.

"Hng… What?" she mumbled, voice drugged with sleep.

"My father wants to see you," he murmured, smoothing her bangs back from her eyes.

Haruhi almost flipped herself over and went back to sleep but instead grumbled curses of the 60-year-old under her breath and pulled herself into sitting position. She winced. He sighed and went to get her a wheelchair. "Kyoya," she said when he returned wheeling the device, "Why exactly does your father want to see me?"

"I told him that we weren't engaged."

"I told you to tell him we were."

He shrugged. "I don't want to trap you in something that you don't want. You told me no, so I told him no too." He took a breath. "Which is probably why he's a bit… pushy at the moment. It doesn't help that he's awake for the first time in two months. Though, he'd probably want to see you anyway considering that I think Akito did a little research and found out that Haruhi Fari doesn't exist."

She groaned as his lifted her from the bed to the chair. "Dammit," she cursed softly. "What do we tell him then?"

Kyoya had no response for several moments then he said, "You're Paitet. That would explain why you were in Pait when you were attacked and why I had to go to there to look after you. I'll think of the rest along the way. Fuyumi and Fuko will cover for you, I'm sure." She nodded as he tucked a blanket around her legs, bracing his arms against the wheelchair arms in order to lean over her properly. "I won't let him hurt you, Haruhi," he promised in a tone that wished death on anyone that touched her. She swallowed and nodded again.

He pushed her out of the room and down the hall to his father's bedroom. He stopped long enough to knock and bestow a kiss on the top of her head before entering the room.

~o~

Haruhi was miserable. Her leg ached from phantom pains, her head was still groggy, and all she really wanted to do was sleep. And here Yoshio Ohtori was questioning her harshly about her real identity. She slumped to the side in her wheelchair, trying desperately to keep her eyes open.

"Name. Real one," Yoshio commanded just as Haruhi's eyes started to drift close.

"Haruhi." Her mind raced to think of a last name. "Haruhi Yukikawa."

"And where do you come from, 'Haruhi Yukikawa'?" he asked next, glaring at her suspiciously, "And why hide your identity?"

"Oh, I don't know," she grumbled sarcastically, "Maybe because you'd take me away from your son and/or kill me. I'm from Pait with mixed heritage from all over the place. You don't even want to know."

"I do, actually."

She sighed and glanced at Kyoya, who stood as stiff as a brick next to her. "Third Paitet, sixth Narian, sixth Kiran, twelfth Moradian, twelfth Gratweny – those two are from way back, mind you – twelfth Chartonian, and a twelfth of some lower-class tribe that I can never remember the name of because it's ridiculously long." Yoshio raised an eyebrow while Kyoya remained expressionless, though she knew he was impressed with her ability to make up something like that on the spot. "Hardly someone that I thought you wanted around your son, thus I lied. To him even." Kyoya turned his head and stared at her. "Sorry," she whispered to him. He shrugged nonchalantly, indicating that he didn't care.

Yoshio did not look impressed. "After him just for the royalty then."

"Not at all," she replied quickly. "I didn't even know that he was royalty when I first met him. I can be a bit unobservant when… distracted." She glanced at him again. He was smirking just enough to confirm her fake story without ever saying a word. "I genuinely care about your son, Your Majesty."

"Then you should have no problem with marrying him."

"I believe it's too soon in our relationship for marriage." The King raised an eyebrow at her quick reply, his arms slowly crossing over his chest. "I'm sure he's explained to you that I do not like to rush things, especially things that might affect the rest of my life. Our lives."

"He has… How old are you Miss Yukikawa?"

"Twenty, sir."

"How long have you been with Kyoya?"

She swallowed and glanced up at him questioningly. "Three months?" she asked hesitantly.

"Four," Kyoya corrected, "Give or take a week or two." He paused and then said, "Father, I do not see the reason in this."

"Patience, Kyoya," his father reprimanded, "I'm merely making sure she's suitable for you."

"I thought dinner had sufficed."

"Not quite. She remained very silent the entire time if you'll remember correctly."

"With all due respect, Father, I don't care that she's what some people in your royal court would refer to as a 'mutt'. Nor do I care if she's from a different country, or how old she is, or even what her name really is."

"Then you will have no problem with my questions. It is my judgment and responsibility to make sure she's suitable for you, socially and otherwise. Your opinion in the matter has little effect on that. Hold your tongue," Yoshio said sharply, giving his youngest son a glare. He turned his ice cold gaze back to the woman in the wheelchair. "What is your status in Pait?"

She had thought about this already. "I'm… the daughter of a lower-rank countess and a commoner. I'm not even exactly sure if I'm what you would call legitimate." She almost snorted from the irony of it. Her grandmother would not have called her legitimate. Her grandmother would have called her an abomination, just like Tamaki's called him as such. Purely because she wasn't of full magical blood, full Witch blood. "Especially seeing as my mother died when I was young."

"You've been raised a commoner then?"

"Yes." She pursed her lips and bowed her head. "And if that isn't to your liking, then I apologize, but I cannot change my heritage and childhood anymore than I can my feelings for your son."

"Feelings can be forgotten."

"So can heritage," she bit back, "It gets lost in time and becomes so muddled that a lot of people wouldn't even know what country they originally came from. I'm lucky enough to have learned what I am from a young age."

For the third time during their conversation, Yoshio raised an eyebrow at her response. "That was very… Eloquent," he finally said, though his lips were now turning down in a frown. "I will reserve judgment for now, but be warned, Miss Yukikawa, I'll still be observing."

"Yes, sir," she said softly, bowing her head and blinking to keep herself from showing the pain that had plagued her throughout the entire ordeal.

"Dismissed. Kyoya, stay behind."

"Father, I must escort her back to my chambers."

"She can get herself there." Kyoya sighed and looked at her. She just nodded her head and waved him off, taking the wheels of the chair in her hands and pushing them forward until they moved. It took her a bit of time to get used to it but once she got that hang of it, she was able to get out the door quickly. Kyoya closed it behind her. "She has spark."

"Another thing I like about her," Yoshio's son agreed quietly.

"It amuses me, but it could quickly become an annoyance if she remains so stubborn." Kyoya almost twitched at the subtle hint to 'break her in.' "She's quite intelligent as well."

"From what she's told me, her father homeschooled her with what he knew and a local professor turned her into a charity project."

"A woman?"

"Yes. You'll notice that Pait's beginning to branch out to women as well, Father. Something that I support quite strongly, especially if the outcome is someone like Haruhi who could actually do something besides become a housewife."

"You knew she was from Pait then?"

"Yes, though I didn't know that she was of mixed heritage and raised as a commoner. Her refinement when I met her indicated someone of higher class." He took a pause and then added quieter, "She seems to be quite embarrassed about that part of her, though I, personally, don't understand why."

"She's a mutt, Kyoya. Anyone would be embarrassed about that, especially if they're going after a Prince. I don't like her. Her attitude… Does not sit well with me."

"Perhaps you're just old-fashioned."

"Hold. Your. Tongue." Another glare was sent his way but Kyoya deflected it easily with his blank expression. "There is something else off that she's not telling us, I can tell."

"I don't know what it could be. She's given you every kind of information she could possibly have."

"Does she have magical blood?"

He paused then carefully replied, "Yes… It's natural, like Mother's. I believe she told me that she inherited it from her mother but never got the chance to train it and thus doesn't like to use it very often. It drains her. I've seen it. She practically passes out after a single spell."

"Your brother told me that she has an uncle on the Kiran royal court."

"From what I understand, he is her half-uncle. He and her father are half-brothers who share the same mother."

"I've also heard that you stayed behind after the Exodus Festival to care for him after he had a heart-attack."

He nodded in confirmation, swallowing down his nervousness before replying, "I did. Haruhi was distraught though she isn't particularly close to her uncle and cousin, they are some of her only remaining family, Kiran or not."

"You acted purely on your feelings for her then. You're we-"

"Father," Kyoya said sharply, "I believe that having a Kiran royal court member who is indebted to me is an advantage that can be later used. I also believe it was you who said that Akito, Yuiichi, and I should invest emotional connection only in one person at a time. That's the only reason you allow us to take on lovers, is it not? Akito has far overstepped that freedom many times while he was married to Sachi as well as before."

"Do not speak about your brother in such a rude manner."

"I apologize if I sounded rude, Father, but I will not take back my words. I'm determined to make Haruhi my wife in time. When she is ready, of course. Seeing as such, I do not think it's completely unreasonable for me to invest my emotions in her. I care about her, Father, and that certainly won't change even if you decide that she isn't suitable."

Yoshio was completely silent for a moment then he said, "I'm disappointed in your choice in women, Kyoya."

"How so?"

"First you bring that Moradian into my palace and expect me to allow her to live-."

Kyoya blinked in surprised at the mention of his previous lover but didn't let her presence in the conversation affect him. "Saren was hardly a threat, Father. Nor was she a part in rebel activities. She wasn't even there when Mother was shot."

"Do not speak to me about your mother's death, boy. Do not try to defend that Moradian of yours either. She was Moradian and therefore she was filth."

"Moradians only rebel against you because you're so harsh on them. You treat them like garbage when most of them did not do anything to deserve such treatment. Mother would be-." He heard the smack more than felt it. He'd let his anger get the best of him. Even as his head whipped to the side and his glasses flew off his face, he didn't let anything show on his face. He hadn't even been aware that his father could get out of bed.

"Do _not _speak to me in such a manner, Kyoya. I will not stand for it," his father hissed, now practically spitting with rage. "I am now disappointed in more than just your taste in women. I am enraged by your behavior. Being King – you should not have had that position and surely not for as long as you did. Kingship made you cheeky and now it's my responsibility to reign you in. I will only say this one last time: _Hold. Your. Tongue._"

Kyoya practically had to bite his tongue to keep himself from spilling over in his own anger. "I apologize. You were saying about my taste in women, Father?" he said bitterly, not really meaning his apology but knowing it was better to give a false one than not give one at all.

"Your taste in women is repulsive. First you bring in that Moradian and you expect me to let her live." That had been a mistake. His father was never supposed to know that Saren was from Mora. As he always did, Akito had ruined it. "Next you bring in this _mutt _who has absolutely no status and on top of that is a foreigner with little Narian blood at all. Though you may wish to marry her based on her intellect and personality, it is not enough. I will not give you my blessing unless she proves herself fitting to wear a Narian crown."

"Well," Kyoya said sarcastically with a bitter grin, "It's a good thing that she won't marry me, then, isn't it, Father?"

Yoshio snorted in disgust and waved him out. "Get out of my sight."

Kyoya was only too glad to.

~o~

Haruhi, from her position on the floor, could tell Kyoya was pissed when he entered by the fact that he slammed the door behind him and almost smashed the vase sitting decoratively on his dresser. This was the kind of anger that she hadn't ever seen from him, nor knew how to quell. She stayed quiet although she'd been stuck on the floor, painfully trying to pick herself back up, for almost as long as she'd been in the room alone.

By the time Kyoya noticed where she was, he snapped out of his anger almost immediately. "Haruhi," he said, lurching forward to help her, "What are you doing on the floor?"

"I tried to move from the chair back to the bed and fell," she replied tartly as she sat down on the bed. He remained standing as though he was too angry to remain in one place. "Your father obviously said some things that he had no right to."

His cheek twitched just below his eye, upper lip almost turning into a sneer of distaste just at the mention of Yoshio Ohtori. She noticed the slight discoloration of it, but chose not to comment since she already figured she knew what had happened. "You could say that," he growled.

She could tell that he was holding something back, hesitating almost like he had something more to tell her. When he didn't continue, she asked very softly, "What is it?"

She visibly noticed him swallow from the strain on his emotions. Then he took a seat next to her heavily, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "He… made an unnecessary reference to a person… That used to be very important to me."

"Your mother?"

He chuckled in surprise. "No, no. He never talks about Mother. This is a… different person." He seemed to want to avoid the topic but he sighed and slouched in his seat. Both hands ran through his hair, clasping behind it with his body bowed. When he sat up again, she was surprised to see his eyes carefully guarded and avoiding hers. "My ex-fiance. He talked about my ex-fiance, Sarentia Mareling."

Haruhi blinked and sat back a bit in surprise, mind racing. She wouldn't have ever once thought that he had previously been engaged. "What happened to her?"

"She… died." By the hesitation in his words she picked up the true meaning, _'My father killed her.'_

"Why?"

"She was Moradian." He forced his voice to remain even and quiet. As though talking about the dead would bring her back to life in the worst way possible. He still didn't look at her. "She was Moradian, we were engaged, and my father didn't know."

"So he found out-."

"And killed her, yes."

"I'm-."

"Don't apologize, Haruhi. Don't you dare apologize." Now he looked at her and she could see the resentment in his eyes. The anger and absolute grief. "I was a fool," he muttered bitterly, "And it's because I was a fool with my emotions that she was killed. I'm tired of apologies when I'm the one that is at fault." He let the matter end right there without continuing, but she still had questions. He stood and pointed at her tea. "Drink."

"One more question?" she interjected quickly. He sighed wearily and nodded his head. "How old were the two of you?"

He drew in a slow breath and let it out again fast. "When we met, I was 17 and she was 21. We were engaged when I was 19 and she died… a month before my 20th birthday. She had just turned 24." She stared at him, doing the math of the time in her head as fast as she possibly could. A year and a half. It had been a year and a half since his previous fiancé had died and here he was proposing to her. "And Saren is the exact reason why we won't be talking about your heritage within the castle anymore. Drink your tea. I'll be in the library."

She sighed as he left. He'd been engaged previously, obviously something that hurt him greatly, though he talked as though it was nothing. She wondered briefly if that was the reason that he now hated his father so much. She guessed so. Especially since Maine and Mona had told her that he had wanted to be like his father when he was younger. Perhaps Saren's death had been the thing to change his mind.

She sighed. _'I need a chat with Charmaine…' _

~o~

She couldn't take the passage to Charmaine's bedroom due to her current disability, thus she was forced to take to the main halls, while simultaneously keeping watch to make sure that none of the Ohtoris caught sight of her.

When she reached the bedroom, however, she could hear voices within arguing. She frowned and listened more closely, trying to identify them. "Akito! You need to stop meddling in his life!" That was definitely Charmaine, though Akito's name surprised her.

"And _you _need to stop telling me what I should do," the growled reply that came was definitely Kyoya's elder brother. She felt a shiver go down her spine. "That woman is… You don't even know."

"I do, actually," Charmaine said stubbornly.

"She's not who she says she is."

"And that isn't your business, nor is informing your father. If Kyoya withheld information regarding Haruhi he probably did so for good reason and would tell the King in good time. Stop meddling in his life. Even if you hate him that doesn't give you the automatic right to destroy his happiness."

"She's a menace! Probably a Kiran spy for all we know!"

"That still isn't any of your business. Kyoya is smart. He knows what's best for himself and he obviously cares for her as much as she does for him!"

"How do you know?"

"I met her."

"How?"

"Kyoya introduced me to her…"

"Dammit, Maine," Akito was growling again and Haruhi vaguely heard the squeak of his wheelchair wheels as they rotated loosely.

"What? I'm not allowed to even speak to your brothers now? To meet the people they're involved with in _their _lives?"

"No. No you're not. You aren't supposed to… You're not supposed to be friends with _him _of all people anyway!"

"And why not? Just because you've hated your own brother since his birth doesn't mean that _I _have to, Akito."

"Maine, you are mine."

"I'm not anyone's. I have never and will never _belong _to anyone. And I want _you _to stop trying to destroy the lives of people that you have no right trying to control. Like myself. Like your brother. Just stop."

"Main-."

"Akito, I swear to the Gods that I will never let you lay finger on me ever again if you hurt your brother or Haruhi." Maine's suddenly threatening tone was motherly towards the youngest Ohtori, much to her surprise. "You almost killed him twice when we were little, Akito. Isn't that enough? Can't you just put everything behind you and stop messing with him? He has it hard enough being the youngest, dammit."

"Maine-."

"Just leave him alone, Akito. I don't want to hear anything else. Leave him and Haruhi alone. Let them fall in love like we did once upon a time, it isn't that hard." She heard a masculine sigh, but no agreement. Then, after a moment, she sighed too. "Akito… I love you. You know I always have, I just want Kyoya to have the chance to be loved too."

"Fine," he grumbled, "Fine, I'll leave them alone. But I'm telling you, she's not right for him."

"Let _him _make that decision," Maine murmured gently. "You should get back. If your father catches you here…"

"I know." Haruhi, startled, moved away from the door and found the nearest nook that her chair would fit in and crammed in. Akito exited the room in his own wheelchair only moments after she was settled. Once he was out of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief and went to the maid's door, knocking twice. When Maine opened the door, she started in surprise.

"Haruhi!" Then she blanched. "Oh goodness, how much did you hear?"

"Just about everything… Thank you for it though. I think Akito was really getting on Kyoya's nerves. And with their father…" she trailed off and looked at Maine. She gestured her inside quietly. Haruhi nodded her head in thanks. "Did you know Sarentia Mareling?"

"Kyoya's lover? Yes, I did. The King was terrible to her."

"Can you tell me more about her?" Charmaine raised an eyebrow and smirked a bit. "I'm not jealous. I just… I want to know. Knowing helps me understand him better. And considering that King Yoshio doesn't exactly like me that much, it might help me avoid his bad side if I did know what happened to her."

"How much has he told you?" She looked apprehensive to be handing out this information. Haruhi didn't blame her.

"He told me that they were engaged, she was Moradian, and that his father had her killed."

Maine sighed under her breath and ran a quick hand through her auburn hair. She shut her eyes, as if thinking back to a time long ago then started quietly. "Kyoya was 17 when he met her. She was 21, that right off the bat made Yuiichi disagree with the relationship automatically. He wasn't allowed to bring her to the castle until he was 18, one of his father's rules but when he did, they were damn near inseparable. The King didn't seem to mind her much either.

"Haruhi, she was the first woman that Kyoya had ever even shown interest in. Akito, I know, was beginning to wonder about his sexuality. It seems though that he's just picky. Anyway… She… loved him. Everyone could tell, but of course she had to lie about her identity or Yoshio would kill her. And he cared enough about her to keep the fact that she was Moradian a secret.

"Akito… And this is why I told him to leave you alone… Akito found out and though I begged him not to tell his father, he still did. Yoshio was furious, absolutely furious, and it was only spurred further by the fact that he didn't know they were engaged. Kyoya, though he tried to protect her couldn't keep her away from his father's wrath. He had her hung. And the worst part is that he made Kyoya watch her writhe until she finally passed. To 'teach him a lesson.' That horrible man ruined what I genuinely thought was one of Kyoya's only chances at a happy marriage. And then he met you." She smiled at her and Haruhi felt as though she should have been looking at someone else as her heart dropped dangerously into her intestines.

"I know that you might not want to talk about it… But I know that you're good for him. The change in him since you got here has been… incredible."

Haruhi pressed her lips together in a thin line in an attempt not to show what she was really feeling. "He proposed to me."

Maine's face brightened. "Really? What did you say?"

"I said no." Her giant grin dimmed significantly, like Tamaki's usually did when she gave him bad news. It almost hurt her to tell this woman that she had only known for a short time the truth. "I told him no because I… can't deal with that. As strong as he thinks that I am and as much as I care about him, I can hardly conceive the idea of being married to him at this point. It's just… too much. And with my situation, I don't think it's even a possibility. I don't want to bring him down."

Maine looked at her like a confused puppy and Haruhi, once more wondered if she was related to a certain blonde Kiran Prince. "But Haruhi… The last thing you'd be doing is bring him down."

"No. I would. Our social classes aren't meant to mix, nor are our cultures. As much as he doesn't care, his father does and I don't want to put him in the deep end with his father. I don't ever want to hurt him personally or for him to be hurt because of me."

"If you care about each other then I don't understand…"

"It's the same reason that you and Akito couldn't possibly be married." She shot a mischievous look at the older woman, who looked away with slightly pink cheeks.

"Th-That is nothing close to the same thing. I'm a servant. Servants don't marry the Prince that they serve."

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't _right _Haruhi. His father wouldn't approve and I can't do anything to hurt his position in line for the throne."

"Exactly." Maine turned her head and stared at her. "That's why I can't – _won't _– marry Kyoya. Because it would hurt his position. I wouldn't ever put him in a position where he'd have to choose between me and the crown. Just like I'd never let myself be hurt by putting him in that position. Because I know that he would choose the crown."

"I doubt that, Haruhi," Maine said skeptically, "If he cares for you at all like he did for Saren, then he'll choose you."

"He can't. I won't let him. I'd sooner leave him than let him do that."

"You have to know that it isn't just your choice. He's going to insist at some point. And once he insists, you'll have no choice but to hurt him if you do as you say and refuse to marry him." She felt as though Maine were trying to corner her and, for some reason, she was letting her. "And yet, you also say that you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to hurt him. What a paradox you've created." She seemed very thoughtful for a moment, and Haruhi thought that she might say something else smart in the matters of the heart that might solve everything. Then she merely said, "You have a chance. More of a chance than I have. I just don't understand why you won't take the chance that I would do almost anything for."

Haruhi felt some part of her lurch at the woman's words. With truth and sympathy for the young woman who could never have the man that she loved (though she still wasn't sure how Maine could love a man as cruel and cold as Akito). She looked away from her, suddenly ashamed. "I'm sorry that you can't be with Akito, but you can't possibly understand the circumstances I'm under, and I need to be going."

She turned her chair to go. Halfway to the door she stopped at Maine's parting words. "Even if you refuse him, he won't be able to stop himself, Haruhi. He's only human. And a very good man. Enough to make you happy, I'm sure. Just… Think about that."

~o~

That night while Haruhi and Kyoya settled down to sleep, Haruhi turned toward him and stared at his face through the dimness, just thinking. He stared back until his exhaustion caused his eyes to droop. She sighed and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. His eyes fluttered open again. She thought about everything that Maine had told her today and felt her heart swell with sympathy for him. "Kyoya," she finally whispered. He grunted softly in response. "Did you love Saren?" He closed his eyes and shrugged. She took that as a sign that he wasn't positive.

She swallowed and moved a little closer to him. Although summer days in Nari were quite warm, nights were freezing. The warmth that Kyoya radiated drove her cold fingers and toes crazy. He opened one eye at the movement and her small gasp of pain as her hurt leg brushed against the mattress.

"Do you need something?" he grumbled, "Or are you just set on disrupting my sleep?"

"Are there more blankets somewhere? I think my toes are freezing themselves."

"You need to rest, Haruhi."

"My _toes _are _freezing_," she retorted, scowling at him. He let out a low tired breath and moved closer to her, pressing her foot between both of his. Why was he so warm? That was hardly fair! He recoiled slightly at first contact with her, truly cold, toes. "I _told _you."

He grumbled under his breath. "Anything else?"

"My fingers. But… I think I can solve that one." She intertwined the fingers of both her hands with his and he raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so warm?" she mumbled, scowling. He just shook his head and closed his eyes again.

"Because, unlike you, I retain body heat by not expelling unnecessary energy to visit certain maids." He opened an eye again just to see the look on her face. Then he chuckled. "I would have told you about Saren eventually. Though, maybe hearing it from someone else was better."

"Did you know that Charmaine and Akito are in love?"

He nodded, shrugging. "I don't understand how. He's hurt her quite a bit in the past. Her brother and I had to pick up the pieces. Especially after Father forbid them from seeing each other. Why do you ask?"

She lifted her shoulders. "Just… curious. Come up with anything on the planning front?"

"Haruhi, I'm exhausted." He looked at her, still allowing her to hold his hands in hers. "I've come up with a little, but it's not nearly enough. We'll talk about it tomorrow. You need your rest just as much as I do. Now sleep."

She nodded obediently and, keeping her hands and foot close to his, closed her eyes.

~o~

**A/N: UGH. THIS ONLY COVERED ONE DAY BECAUSE I COULDN'T STOP FREAKING THINKING. ASJDFLWHEFUOWHFKJAHDF. **

**Crazy moment aside… This is just off of 6000 words. Eeeeeee. And also my last back-up chapter. Crap. Here I go to write 28 when I should be studying my butt off. Somehow. Oi. We'll see how well this chapter-a-month thing holds up after this. **

**Kudos to: Nessie-san, Obscurity Within Mercy, The Last Fallen Angel, Victoria5624, xxXDreamFan98Xxx, Magpie09, Toffee-Pixie, and hiya-exclamationpoint! You guys are all great!'**

**Oh! Also! Got a random idea for another murder mystery type thing with a Kyoya-Haruhi partnership! Already have written quite a bit for it too! So look out for that! Also think I'm gonna discontinue Rule 51 since all my notes and stuff for where it was going got lost on my old computer. Sorry. **


	30. 28: Getting Nowhere Quickly

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 28 – Getting Nowhere Quickly_

When she saw Hunny and Mori, she grinned. Hunny stopped when he saw her and stared. At her leg. She rolled her eyes. "It's nothing."

"What happened?" Mori asked instead of Hunny and she glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Litriad. Two of them," she replied. Then Kyoya walked in and looked at the two intruding men with narrowed eyes. "Kyoya," she said with a smile at him, "This is Hunny and Mori. They're the ones that freed me. And they're Yuiichi's spies. Or former spies, rather." Then she paused and added, "Hunny's a fire elemental and… Mori's a seer."

"A seer?" Kyoya demanded, shooting her a look of shock. She nodded. He stared at her for the longest time, then he said, "And I thought your Witching Dreams were as far into the future as we were going to get." He turned to the two soldiers with a smirk. "Nice to meet the two of you. Thank you for saving her."

Hunny shook himself out of his shock at her condition and smiled at him. "She's our friend. Of course we helped her." He paused for a moment then said, quietly enough that even if others were around, they wouldn't be able to hear, "Haru-_ki _-," he stopped and revised his statement. "Haru-_ianc_ asked us to help you with ending the war." For some reason, Haruhi didn't think that the Narian suffix added to her name sounded as natural as _–kisci _did.

He nodded. "We'll be travelling to a more… secluded area later. You'll accompany us?"

Hunny nodded enthusiastically. "We might have something useful for you, right Takashi?" Mori, like normal, gave a silent nod in reply. Kyoya raised an eyebrow while Haruhi silently dreaded the idea of travel as it tended to be more painful than staying in one place.

"Kyoya," she asked quietly. He looked down at her inquiringly. "What kind of travel…?"

"Ah. We'll be walking. It isn't that far. And I understand that it may be painful for you, so I'll push your wheelchair and bring your medicine with us. Speaking of which, we should get ready."

The cousins nodded. "We need to go see your brother anyway," Hunny said with a brilliant shining smile.

~o~

If not for the bumpy dirt road that they used to get to the place Kyoya wanted them to use, Haruhi would have been perfectly fine. As it was, every bump her chair ran over made her want to cry. Now, Kyoya knelt in front of her, one hand on her knee, the other steadying him on the arm of her wheelchair, inspecting her leg. "Better not be infected," he growled under his breath while Mori and Hunny stood by waiting. She shut her eyes and leaned her head back, honestly trying not to alarm him by making noise.

Finally, he used her knee to push himself up and stand to the side. "Haruhi," he said. She shushed him, trying to breathe in order to regulate the pain. "Haruhi." She opened her eyes and found him partially leaned over her laid back head. "It'll get better."

She stared at him, partially wondering why saying that made the pain lessen and partially wondering why he had gotten so close. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her and then he cleared his throat and stood up straight. "How do you know?" she asked softly, lifting her head.

"Because my brother-in-law is perfectly fine now." She scowled. Fuko had an amputation? "His left hand, Haruhi. His prosthetic is somehow magically hooked into his nervous system so he can move his fingers. I'm seeing if I can get something similar for yours but it isn't easy to come by."

"You don't have to… It's not like I need to move my toes." He shot a look at her that was wedged somewhere between a glare and exasperation. She smiled sheepishly in return only to have her gaze turn to Hunny as he giggled. She gave him a questioning look but he only shook his head and doubled over in more laughter. "What, dare I ask, is so funny?"

"Nothing. Nothing Haru-_ianc_," he said quickly, brushing back his laughter.

Kyoya, she noticed, barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. She held back get own grin while knowing that his stony face was just an act because he didn't know Hunny and Mori very well. She drew in a breath and changed the topic quickly. "Prophecy?"

"Ah, right," Hunny mumbled, looking toward his cousin for a moment. Haruhi waited expectantly with Kyoya at his side. "Normally, we wouldn't share. But there's a chance that it might end the war, at least, that's what I think."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. She shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Alright. Let's hear it," Haruhi said softly.

Mori, to her surprise, was the one that answered in his deep tones.

"_The battle of two nations equally worn_

_Longwinded shall be ended or torn_

_Inner evils shall rise from ashes_

_Despaired vortex ignites_

_Sucking in all who go near_

_Only seven unbiased will pull_

_Back the ground to wreak heaven's wrought_

_Witch and Warlock combine_

_When magic flushes white_

_A soul most unwilling, finally freed_

_After life's red river accordingly flows_

_Eyes opened to all that could be_

_Battles end, wars begin."_

Haruhi felt a shiver run down her back while Kyoya bristled slightly, eyes shooting to hers. Mori fell silent after finishing, regarding the couple with his blonde cousin. Finally, Kyoya, after staring her in the eyes like he was trying to find something he'd lost for several moments, gruffly said, "Riddles? Why can't it just be told straight?"

"That's how Takashi gets them. He goes into this funny trance and speaks in this funny voice. He's just as clueless as we are as to the exact meaning of it," Hunny said innocently. Kyoya growled with frustration, obviously irritated with the form of the prophecy. Haruhi, glancing between him and the small blonde gently took his hand and squeezed. He didn't even glance at her or the gesture, just carefully intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Two nations are obviously Kira and Nari," she started analyzing line by line, "Ended or torn, is the end of the war either way you look at it."

"Unless it means that both will be torn apart," Hunny chirped with a frightening grin.

She nodded her head. "That seems to be the only clear part of it. The end makes it seem like something even worse though. I have absolutely no idea what any of the rest could be. Kyoya?" She looked over at him only to find him gazing off into the distance as though _he _were in a trance. She squeezed his hand again to gain his attention. He looked at her. "Something wrong?"

"No," he replied, "Just… thinking." He seemed to shake himself enough to be able to pull himself back into reality. "We've already discerned that the Witch shares some connection in the continuation of the war, the extent of which we aren't sure of. Her showing up in the prophecy attached to the Warlock isn't exactly very promising. Especially since the Warlock's been dead for nearly a century."

"His ancestors are still around," Haruhi pointed out.

"Maybe," he snorted, "But no one knows who they are. He was much less careful with mixing blood so his ancestors are both incredibly mixed and completely unknown. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't know that they themselves were a Warlock." She gazed at him silently, assessing his answer then nodded in agreement.

"Regardless, I'm the only living descendant of the Witch. So it has to pertain to either her or me." She drew in a deep breath and shifted in her chair. Her leg ached but she ignored it. "Whatever we're going to do to end this war, there are a few problems that need to be sorted out." Haruhi took another glance at Kyoya before continuing, "One is the Kiran military. We either need to reconcile with both them and Kiran royalty, or find a way to rejoin the military with the royal court."

"Fusawa's the main conflict in that. And Larsen," Hunny interjected softly. Haruhi nodded and closed her eyes briefly, her exhaustion seeping through to show on her face.

Kyoya, sensing her state, continued where she had left off. "The Witch is especially an obstacle in regards to Nari since she has very close ties to my family, mainly my father. Since he is now awake, it shouldn't be long until she's here for a long stay and to try and marry my father."

"Is your father a Warlock, Kyo-_ianc_?"

"No. Generational."

"Then it wouldn't be the Witch. So it must mean me," Haruhi muttered, scowling at this new information. "Combining with a Warlock. How does that even work?" Hunny shrugged, Mori remained indifferent, and Kyoya's hand just barely curled into a fist. She didn't think about why that might be. "Either way we'll have to find a way to get her banished or killed. And without anyone interfering."

Kyoya snorted, knowing immediately that she was hinting that they'd need to find a way to keep his brothers distracted. "Yuiichi shouldn't be a problem. Akito on the other hand…"

"Maine said she was trying to get him to leave us alone."

"Good luck to her on that front," Kyoya muttered, releasing her hand to scratch the back of his head. "Hopefully my father won't choose a successor before the war is through, so we won't have to worry so much about that as convincing him that it's pointless to continue fighting."

"And if he does?" Haruhi asked.

"Then… We'll have to hope it's either Yuiichi or I." He paused just long enough to sigh and then looked back toward the pair of cousins who were again smiling at the two of them. He scowled. "We'll have to find some way to make peace with the Moradians as well."

She let out a sigh of her own and took the wheels of her chair, backing up and wheeling away from them slightly in order to think. "I thought you said you had a plan?"

Kyoya shook his head. "Not good enough. And my father would never go for it. We have to deal with the Kiran military and the Witch separately before we can even think about trying a peace treaty. Convincing him that the Witch is actually a threat will be difficult as well as the fact that Kira wants peace as long as the military's acting on their own."

"So we have nothing?"

"We have the prophecy!" Hunny exclaimed, trying to be optimistic. Haruhi shook her head slightly, not wanting to crush the poor man's spirits.

"We don't know what it means though," Kyoya said, quite bluntly. Hunny's smile dimmed in response. Mori patted his head a bit to reassure him while Haruhi shot her male companion a look. He was obviously frustrated with how things were turning out but that didn't give him the right to snap at the people that were trying to help them.

"We'll figure it out," she stated gently, attempting to quell his anger. "It says there are seven people. They have to be the four of us, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki. We'll solve it." He shrugged her off when she tried to touch his arm. Her lips turned down slightly in a frown while she looked toward the cousins for help. Hunny quickly nodded his head in agreement with her analysis of the seven people.

Kyoya let out a quick breath after a moment and muttered, "We should be heading back. Before long someone will start to wonder where we've gone." Before anyone could say or do anything, he took the handles of Haruhi's wheelchair and started to push her back in the direction of the castle.

Hunny grinned as soon as they were out of earshot. "They're cute, aren't they Takashi?"

"Ahh," Mori agreed.

~o~

Not long after their return, Kyoya was called in to see his father. Haruhi gave a soft sigh as he helped her get settled in the bed before rushing off. Charmaine quickly took his place in the room, choosing to choose the one moment that Kyoya was out of the room to speak with her.

"Have you thought about what I said?" she asked eagerly.

Haruhi stared at her, trying to remember what exactly had been said. She'd had bigger things to worry about honestly. Like developing a plan to end the war. Something that was obviously a failed attempt. Instead of telling the older woman the truth however, she lied, "Yes…"

"And?"

"And what?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave things as they are until King Yoshio is willing to give his consent to let me marry Kyoya."

"Does that mean that you're going to say yes?"

"Not necessarily. It means that if the King grows to like me, then it will be a possibility. Right now, I still won't risk his status with his father."

"He doesn't care about any of that!" Maine said stubbornly, more upset than Haruhi thought she had right to be.

"His father _does_! And I'm not going to end up being another Saren for him! I care too much about him to do that!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She had voiced her feelings without thinking. She'd been so _frustrated _with Maine's lack of understanding that they had just jumped out. She turned away from the older woman quickly, effectively hiding her expression.

Of course, Kyoya chose that exact moment to return. He walked in the room and blinked as he regarded Maine standing in his bedroom. "Akito won't be happy that you're here," he acknowledged her.

"Screw Akito. He doesn't control my every goddamn move," Maine retorted with flaring nostrils. Then he turned his eyes to Haruhi, who still wouldn't look at either of them. He scowled.

"What are the two of you up to?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Maine said quickly while Haruhi remained silent. Kyoya narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well then," he said softly, "You have no more reason to be here do you?" Maine nodded her head and curtsied quickly before scurrying out of the room. He sat down on the bed next to Haruhi. "What did she say?"

The brunette just shook her head. "Nothing of importance."

"She wouldn't have been here if it wasn't important, Haruhi."

The woman sighed and looked over at him. He raised an eyebrow at her weariness. "Can I get some tea?" He nodded his head but still waited for her to answer his question. "Now?" she prodded, trying to get him to leave the room. He shook his head, a simple indication that he wasn't leaving without a proper answer. She swore under her breath. "She's trying to convince me to marry you, okay? You have a very stubborn childhood friend. She won't listen to me, no matter what the reasons that I give her are."

He chuckled. "I think that's why Akito likes her so much. She's one of the only people he knows that can't be controlled by anyone." He stopped and thought for a moment before adding, "Kind of like you…" He stood before she could answer, muttering, "I'll just go get that tea for you…"

She stared after him, her chest aching vaguely. Was Maine right that she wasn't giving him enough of a chance? That she wasn't giving him enough credit? She wanted to believe that there was some way that she could marry him without repercussions, but no such option had ever existed before. There were always consequences. No matter what she did there always were. And then there were her _feelings_. She heaved another sigh. She had known she held affection for him. But she had never thought that anything would come from said affection. Yet, if what Maine said was true, it meant that Kyoya also held similar affections for her.

Her heart hurt just thinking about the possibility.

~o~

Within a week, she was fitted for a fake leg to replace the one that she had lost. The fitting itself was painful but trying to stand on it was worse. The recently healed skin on her stump broke again, leaving a bloody mess. Where it didn't break, it blistered from being rubbed against the metal of the prosthetic.

Kyoya swore more frequently then she had ever heard him while he and Yuiichi worked on it to make it more comfortable. Meanwhile, she started moving around on crutches, dumping her wheelchair and only using it if she absolutely had to.

The third time that Yuiichi came with the fake leg in hand for her to try, she groaned. She'd lost her leg three weeks ago and every time she put the damn thing on, it made the wound open up partially again.

"This is the last time, Haruhi, I swear," Yuiichi coaxed softly as he strapped it to her knee and lower thigh. The metal cup that held her knee had been padded somehow this time, which made it much more comfortable than it had been before.

She shrugged. "Not bad…"

"Try standing before you say that," Kyoya commented, watching from the doorway as his brother helped her up.

She shrugged again. "A bit worse. Not terrible though."

"Walk."

She stared at him. "Kyoya… I can't just walk."

"Try."

Yuiichi offered his arm which she grasped firmly before even trying to take a step forward. She did, right foot first. She grimaced with the pain that shot up her left leg from having all her weight on it. The eldest Ohtori quickly helped her sit back on the bed and remove the brace. "Didn't break the skin this time."

"No," she said in a voice that was an octave higher than normal, "I think it was just the pressure on the wound that hurt. Don't think that there's much else that we can do to fix that though. I'll use crutches with this until I'm used to it."

Kyoya didn't say anything, just stared at her leg. It was a rather simple design. A padded metal cup that attached to her leg via straps, a thick metal rod that served as her calve, and hallow metal foot. It was odd seeing her mismatched feet. And it was a sight that made him strangely guilty. He strode toward the bed where she sat slowly. Yuiichi, after replacing the prosthetic on her stump, stood and left, clapping him on the back on the way past.

As he sat down next to her, he just kept staring at the metal leg. Like he couldn't take his eyes off it. "Are you still blaming yourself for this?" she asked him quietly, shifting her left leg a bit. When he didn't reply she sighed and placed a hand on his knee. "Kyoya?"

"I'm fine," he murmured. "Father's requested our presence at dinner tonight."

"Wonderful," she muttered sarcastically as his hand grasped hers.

"I'll make sure that they serve you you're tea."

"That's not exactly what I'm worried about, Kyoya, and you know it."

He sighed and squeezed her hand a little tighter. "We'll get you a nice dress and then as long as you don't insult my father then things should be fine. Just act like a lady."

"Harder than you think," she grumbled. He chuckled under his breath and stood again, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Where are you going?"

"Meeting with my father. Your dress is in my wardrobe. Be ready in about an hour, alright?" She nodded, watching him curiously as he turned away and left the room. He was acting strange. Stranger than normal. Like something was bothering him. Something more than usual.

When he came back for her later, she was completely dressed and ready for dinner. He looked at her. She stared back, trying to decipher the thoughts going on in his head. She stood when he took a step closer. Her metal foot barely showed underneath the skirt of the light blue dress she wore. He stepped forward the rest of the way and offered his arm. She took it carefully. "Think you can walk down there?"

"Could try. Bring my crutches just in case though." He nodded and took them in one hand, slipping his other arm around her waist to help hold her up. She gained more strength after her first few steps but still required her crutches by the time she got to the stairs. When they reached the bottom, she tripped a bit and Kyoya caught her. "Thanks," she mumbled, pressing her face into his shoulder to try and get a grip on the pain that now shot through her leg. The arm around her waist tightened slightly, his nose pushing into her hair.

"It's alright," he whispered, "Breathe, Haruhi."

Of course at that moment Yoshio himself walked down the staircase. He gave them both a look, to which Kyoya just raised an eyebrow while Haruhi did as he had told her to and breathed. Finally she muttered, "Crutches." He nodded and handed them to her, still holding her up with one arm while his father merely watched them.

"Father," Kyoya finally said softly, nodding at him once Haruhi had slipped the crutches underneath her arms. "Shall we?"

Yoshio made some kind of unintelligible grunting noise and pushed past both of them into the dining room. Kyoya, she could tell, was doing his best to keep his temper under control and not punch his father. He walked alongside her hobbling until they were just outside the dining room when he stopped her and murmured, "He's not the most pleasant person to have dinner with. Don't be surprised if no one talks throughout the entire thing." She just nodded, confused with his need to tell her that. "Also… Don't take anything that he says to heart."

"Kyoya, I get it. Your father will try to insult me. It isn't like he hasn't already done that."

He took in a deep breath and nodded once quickly, letting her go in ahead of him.

The entire castle felt like a dragon's lair lately.

~o~

The entire dining room was quiet. Dead silent aside from the scurrying of servants, which only served to put Haruhi more on edge than normal. Kyoya would glance at her out of the corner of his eye every once in a while, as if trying to assure her that everything was find with a single look. She could feel King Yoshio's intense gaze on her nearly constantly, creating a slight burning sensation on the back of her neck.

Finally, halfway through their meal, the plate for which she had hardly touched, the King spoke in his normal monotonous commanding tone. "Aren't you hungry, Miss Yukikawa?"

She looked up, a bit startled at the beginning of speech and shook her head with a small smile. "Not particularly, Your Majesty." She paused and took a sip of the tea in front of her. "Pain tends to be a deterrent against hunger." Kyoya's eyes slid toward her face, his hand slipping into hers under the table. She looked toward him. "I'm fine," she mumbled in response to his worried gaze.

"You're sure?" he replied in a low voice. She nodded and turned her gaze back to the King.

"It's been three weeks, is it really still that bad?"

She gritted her teeth a bit, fighting the urge to make a biting reply and answered calmly, "I only just received my prosthetic, which will be painful to walk on until I adjust."

The King nodded. Haruhi thought it was a good sign. At least he was acknowledging that she existed instead of just pretending she wasn't really there. Though his questions, she knew, were out of malicious curiosity, not concern as Kyoya's would have been if from him. She prepared herself silently since she knew that this would not be his last question. She squeezed Kyoya's hand and let go carefully after a moment of breathing.

"Tell me more about your family."

"What would Your Majesty like to know?" she answered politely, sticking a bite of meat in her mouth and chewing slowly.

"Your parents for one."

She licked her lips, putting the story together in her head quickly before telling it. "My mother was a two-thirds Paitet, a sixth Kiran, and a sixth Moradian. She was the daughter of a high-ranked Paitet aristocratic couple – possibly a duke and duchess though I'm not exactly sure since I never met my grandparents on either side. My father is a third Narian and a sixth Kiran, Chartonian, Gratweny, and Tribal each. He is the son of a professor and a seamstress – not exactly high-ranking by your standards."

"How did two individuals come to marry?"

"They fell in love. My mother left her family and eloped with my father. Grandmother, I'm told, was absolutely furious with the choice. Both she and grandfather disowned her. My father couldn't have been any happier."

"And your father's parents?"

"They died… in a house fire a year before he and Mother wed. They weren't exactly sure of the marriage though either and discouraged Father from pursuing it. He, of course, did anyway. Father held a small position within the Paitet royal court of a scribe before mother died and continued for a short while after before he had to quit in order to take better care of me."

"When did your mother die?"

"When I was merely a child. Two, maybe three, years old. I don't have many, if any memories of her. Most of what I know is from my father."

"And where is your father currently?"

"Pait. He's currently a… bartender but occasionally helps a professor friend of his teach a class."

"Are he and your uncle close?"

"Somewhat… They rarely ever see each other though thanks to the war." The King nodded his head and finally fell silent, content with eating. "I _am_ a Narian citizen, Your Majesty. I live here more often then I'm there and I have dual-citizenship." She glanced at Kyoya, wondering if that lie would be able to pass the tests that his might put it through. He didn't make any indication that she had overstepped her boundaries so she assumed that it would be taken care of before anyone could prove it false.

Yoshio took no acknowledgment of her testimony, but Haruhi really didn't care. All she wanted was to be out of the man's presence so she could be herself again. The other members of the family who were there, having remained silent through the entire conversation now took their turns conversing with their patriarch.

"Akito, how is your recovery?"

"Well," the younger Ohtori replied, "I'm close to walking again. My physical therapists say that I might even be able to before the end of the week." He seemed happy, though Haruhi felt a shiver of dread. A completely mobile Akito was a dangerous one. Yuiichi excused himself as Yuki was fidgeting in her seat, ready to go back to playing. Akito took leave shortly afterward, leaving the youngest Narian Prince, Haruhi, and the King alone in the dining hall.

And there was silence.

It seemed that Yoshio had nothing to say to his youngest son, which she found to be a bit rude. He'd talked with every other person at the table but not Kyoya. Haruhi glanced at Kyoya, who was finishing up his last bit of food. "Ready?" he asked her as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. She nodded and moved to stand.

Now Yoshio did say something and Haruhi's heart nearly stopped at his words.

"Kyoya, it seems that you have a penchant for attempting to negotiate peace. I set up a conference for possible peace with the Kiran General. I want you to go and take her with you, I'm sure she'll be at least _some _help to you."

~o~

**A/N: Kind of awkward place to stop but this is only 300 words short of 5,000 words. **

**Will they be able to negotiate peace with the Kiran Army? And will King Yoshio finally see reason? **

**I'm not telling! **

**Guess what? I'm legal! Woohoo! (Not that I was **_**illegal **_**before) I turned 18 on the 29****th**** of April C: So happpppppyyyyyy! I don't have to ask permission to do stuff now. I just go (the only downside is I have to pay for it myself). I also figured out what's wrong with me, yaaaaay! No more migraines! AND I figured out that I get to go to college next year practically for free. Yes. This month has been a very good month. **

**Excuse me… Ramble over. **

**Kudos to: isara-love, Magpie09, xxXDreamFan98Xxx, Nessie-san, and Koharu Veddette! **

**-cough- By the way… If you have checked out my new story… You should. It's vaguely Sherlock-esque, and absolutely amazing (at least it feels like that in my brain). I didn't realize that it was Sherlock-like until I finished both seasons in like… Two days though. Doh. Anywho… Check it out! **


	31. 29: Deception

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 29 – Deception_

"What?" Kyoya demanded sharply, not quite believing Yoshio. Why would his father pick him if he was such a disappointment? A screw up. There had to be some kind of ulterior motive to this plan. He thought about it a moment while his father repeated his words slowly. Then he looked at Haruhi quickly.

"-take her with y-."

"No," he cut off his father with a glare. "No. She is not going with me." Haruhi now looked at him like he was insane.

"Why not?" she demanded while Yoshio merely looked at his son over his spectacles.

"It's not safe," Kyoya said calmly, still glaring daggers at his father. "I won't let you use her as a pawn in whatever bloody scheme you have going in your head."

"I merely meant for you to take her as a show of good faith," the elder Ohtori replied with a smirk and a calm voice.

"What? Like you did in Mora with Mother? Mother _died, _Father."

"Your mother was _murdered_. She didn't merely die. And that was not in the plan. I never planned for your mother to be anywhere near danger or any of the four of you." Kyoya stopped and stared at the Narian King. His voice was bitter, filled with regret; something that his father never _ever _showed. It was wrong. Something was wrong.

"You never talk about Mother…"

"Stop questioning my motives and do as you're told. You're going. As for the girl, you'll have to decide whether she goes or not amongst yourselves, though it seems as though she wants to."

"She won't be going," Kyoya insisted. Yoshio didn't reply so they took that as their cue for dismissal. He promptly placed a hand on the small of Haruhi's back and pushed her toward the exit. She scowled at him and stopped her slow hobbling the moment they were outside the dining room.

"I'm going with you," she said in a low voice.

"No you are not."

"I won't let you go without me… It's more dangerous for you to go alone than it is for me to be with you."

"Haruhi, you aren't going."

"That isn't solely your decision to make." He looked at her with the biggest amount of loathing. "I understand that you want me out of harms' way, but Kyoya… I can protect myself. You don't need to do it for me."

"No. That's not it. I don't want you being played into _his _hands. He had Saren hung to keep her away from me; I'm not sure what he'll do to keep _you _away."

"You don't honestly think that he'd arrange to have the Kiran military kill me." He gave her a short glare that said he thought that Yoshio could and would do just that. "That's madness."

"Madness or not, you aren't going."

"It still isn't only your decision, I get a say in this too."

"Haruhi-."

"Kyoya, I'm going. There's no way that you'll get me to stay here while you go off and deal with two of the biggest assholes on the planet." He drew in a sigh while she looked around for some way to convince him that it was safe for her to go. "Look… I can help."

"They'll demand that you be returned to them as their prisoner."

"Do you honestly think that that will stop me?"

He pursed his lips and didn't answer.

~o~

"Haruhi, you're nowhere near well enough to accompany me," Kyoya tried to convince her the morning that they were to leave. She shot him a glare as she tugged her shoes on her mismatched feet, scowling at the fact that her prosthetic was just big enough that it stretched the shoe.

"Bullshit. You _know _that I can walk quite well now without pain and without crutches. That means that I'm well enough to go." She turned her eyes from her shoes to meet his carefully. "You may not want me to do this, but there's no way that I'm letting you go alone. You can't get rid of me, Kyoya."

"It would appear so," he replied drily. She smiled at his defeated demeanor and stood, following his retreating figure out of the room and down the stairs. When they ran into his eldest brother and father Kyoya motioned her to go ahead of him to the carriage that would take them to the Kiran border. She glanced back at him just before turning a corner. The conversation he and his father were having seemed to be very heated although it had only just started. She sighed and stopped just out of earshot, waiting for him there.

To her surprise, Yuiichi rounded the corner before Kyoya could, a smirk on his lips that made him look very much like his youngest brother. He stopped just in front of her, regarding her for a moment before murmuring, "You know… I really don't understand you two."

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

"You and Kyoya are so protective, yet you never show one another. You're a soldier, he's a Prince. I told him once not to fall in love with you because it would only hurt him. And yet… You haven't. Around Father and Akito, you're reservedly affectionate. Around me, you don't really care. By yourselves it varies depending on your moods. But you're never _not _affectionate. And he still denies being in love. I don't get it."

She shrugged uneasily. "He's not really that public with his affection and I don't show it very easily. That makes it easy to fake."

"But it's _not _fake!" Yuiichi muttered in a low voice. "I can tell. You look at each other like Mayuri and I did."

She shook her head, opening her mouth to reply when Kyoya walked around the corner. She closed her mouth quickly as he approached and put a protective arm around her. "What're you two up to?"

"Just talking," Yuiichi said nonchalantly. "I'll see you when you get back. And Haruhi, go easy on him." She scowled at his warning, not sure of what he meant while Kyoya gave him an odd look.

"What was that?" the youngest Ohtori asked her in a mutter once his brother was out of earshot.

"I… don't know," she stated carefully. "What did your father want?"

"Nothing of importance. Just reminding me of a few facts that I need to remember and basically telling me not to screw up."

He answered a bit too quickly and nonchalantly for her to believe that what he was saying was true. They'd also been talking a bit too intensely for her to believe that that really was all that was being said. She didn't push him though, knowing that would do more harm than good. She shrugged off the nagging feeling in her stomach that there was something he wasn't telling her and allowed him to usher her into the carriage that would take them to the Kiran border.

The ride passed mostly in silence. Occasionally his arm would find its way around her shoulders, squeezing her to him. The man the arm was attached to, seemed to be deep in thought, something that Haruhi dared not interrupt. At one point she fell asleep laying against his chest. When she woke, the carriage had come to a stop.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked up at her companion as a sigh came from his lips. "As much as I'm glad that father trusts me enough to do this, I really wish that he hadn't sent me," he mumbled under his breath just loud enough for her to hear. She shrugged. "I also really wish you had just decided to stay back."

She scowled. Why was he so set on her remaining behind? "Kyoya, why do you want me to stay so badly? Isn't it better for me to be out of reach of your father and Akito?"

He shook his head, a note of sadness hitting his features. "Not this time. I'm sorry." She didn't have time to react before she found herself being hit with a bolt of magical energy so strong that the world went black.

~o~

She woke to the sound of clashing swords. For several moments her vision was bad enough that she couldn't even tell the difference between her surroundings and the scenes in her head. She couldn't remember anything. Her mind was too foggy to even pull herself through the final veil to clarity.

"_I'm sorry." _

"Kyoya?" she mumbled, pulling herself into upright position. She was sitting against a seat. A carriage seat. She was in a carriage.

The clanging of a sword prevented her from remembering exactly how she had ended up asleep on a carriage floor while Kyoya had become separated from her. She couldn't quite tell if the clashing was from the aching in her head or from outside the vehicle.

After several seconds of sitting in a daze, she decided that it was coming from outside instead of in her skull. All of her limbs felt heavy. Somehow, she was able to find the door of the carriage and push it open, stumbling out into the open area. It took a while for her to process the scene in front of her but once it did she started moving to stop it.

"Kyoya! Stop!"

The swords clashing were Larsen's and Kyoya's. For some reason, they were fighting fiercely, Larsen with his cursed short sword and Kyoya with the one that he carried constantly. Fusawa's larger form lay on the ground, a sword wound in his stomach, still dripping blood although she was sure that he was already dead.

And Kyoya had killed him for sure.

She just couldn't figure out why he had.

"Kyoya!" she yelled, starting to move forward, stumbling. He turned to look at her in surprise, stumbling a bit in a way that he couldn't recover from. That was all the opportunity that Larsen needed to strike.

She watched Larsen's blade go straight through Kyoya's chest. The Ohtori froze in place, shocked at being outmatched. His sword clattered to the ground while Larsen's pulled out, allowing Kyoya to fall to his knees.

"_NO!_" It took only seconds more for the fire to begin. Mori appeared seemingly out of nowhere and held a blade to Larsen's neck, giving Haruhi the chance to run and drop to her knees next to Kyoya. "You _idiot_!" She couldn't stop yelling at him. It was the only way she could think of to not break down. He was not supposed to get hurt. No one was supposed to get hurt. He was practically choking on his own blood and burning to death from the inside and she couldn't think of anything that she could do but yell at him for being a moron.

"Why would you do that?" She lifted his head to her lap gently, fingers worrying their way through his hair. Larsen merely smirked at her.

"How'd you like the litriads, Marioka?"

"Shut up!" she snapped, "You just shut up, you… _bastard_." She couldn't think between Larsen's taunts, the sight of Kyoya bleeding to death, and the already present aching of her head.

"He attacked _us_," Larsen snarled, seeming satisfied with his work. Mori threatened him by drawing his sword a bit closer to his neck and the man backed off. "Both of you are traitors. Should be hanging."

"Because I did what I thought was right. Sure," Haruhi snipped angrily, trying anxiously to stop the bleeding in Kyoya's chest as well as the burning. She had to stop the fire but she didn't have the right power to do it. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't control fire.

That was it. "Hunny!" she yelled, knowing that the small blonde-headed man couldn't be far from Mori. "Hunny! I need you!" He didn't answer when called. She looked down at Kyoya's agonized expression a moment then shut her eyes. A fire elemental could pull the fire out of the Ohtori's wounds without a problem, but the only one that she knew was nowhere to be found.

"Mitsukuni," Mori called gently. A twig snapped somewhere close by. Her head shot up hopefully.

"What do you need Haru-_kisci_?" Hunny asked , appearing beside her.

"Pull the fire out of him. Please. If you can do that then I can do the rest. I can't let him die."

"He deserves it," Larsen muttered just loud enough to be audible. "Attacking us under the pretense of offering peace. Killing General Fusawa."

"Shut up," she mumbled. Kyoya's eyes cracked open a bit and looked up into hers. "You moron, what were you thinking?" He couldn't seem to speak either because he was too focused on breathing or controlling the pain, but he blinked and tears poured down his cheeks. She wiped them away with her thumb. "I know it hurts." At least he wasn't screaming. She wasn't sure if she could have handled it if he screamed. Hunny put a hand on the Narian's chest. Haruhi lowered her head a bit to hover over his.

The Gratweny started whispering under his breath. Kyoya's hands curled into fists, his eyes squeezing shut tightly. His jaw became taunt, a sound caught between a whimper and choking coming from him.

"It won't work," Larsen stated.

"Takashi, will you get him out of here?" Hunny requested politely. Mori grunted and pushed the Major General backwards. Larsen ducked under the sword held to his throat and lunged back toward Kyoya and Haruhi, aiming for the woman's chest. Haruhi picked Kyoya's sword off the ground, moving to block the blow, but it never reached her. The sword and Larsen's body dropped to the ground while a head flew through the air, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Andres Larsen was dead.

Hunny's mouth bent down in a frown as he continued his work. His hand jerked up and down in tiny movements as if trying to loosen something. With each small jerk, a small noise of pain came from Kyoya's mouth. Haruhi unclenched one of his hands carefully and squeezed it in one of hers. Finally, with one final upward jerk of Hunny's hand, a cry from Kyoya, and his nails digging into her hand, a ball of fire leapt from the gouge in the Narian Prince's chest to the Gratweny's palm.

"Got it!" The blonde crowed triumphantly.

"Haruhi," Kyoya croaked, finally able to speak. She shushed him quickly, laying her own hand on his chest and murmuring healing spells. "You need… Get out… Here."

"I'm not leaving you," she whispered furiously. "Mori can you help me get him into the carriage?" He nodded and lifted the Prince effortlessly. Kyoya grunted. Hunny climbed into the driver's seat while Mori placed Kyoya down gently. He climbed up next to his cousin and waited until the door behind him was closed before spurring the horses to action. "Why? Why'd you do this?"

"Hurt you."

"They hurt me? That's not your battle to fight nor is it your decision to make."

"Yuki."

"That still doesn't justify attacking them when you were supposed to be trying to negotiate peace. You _moron_." She pulled her hand from his chest, frustrated that she couldn't heal him properly. "I can't even heal you. I can't…"

"Haruhi…" She looked him in the eyes and it hit her all at once. Yuiichi had known. That's why he'd told her to go easy on him. "You're… Crying."

"Yuiichi knew. You knew when you came that you were going to attack them." She couldn't even feel the tears running down her cheeks. Something inside of her hardened. "You knew because your father told you to." He didn't answer. "That's it isn't it? Your father ordered you to kill them… And you hid it from me."

"Haruhi…"

She shook her head. "Stop speaking. You're going to kill yourself at this rate."

"Why… You crying?"

"You… For being so intelligent you're an _idiot_," she muttered. He wasn't going to make her say it. She still didn't want to admit it and if he didn't already know then he didn't need to. "Kyoya… You… I don't understand how one man can be so brilliant and so moronic at the same time. You've defied your father before, so why not now?"

"They… deserved it."

She looked away from him. "Just stop talking," she mumbled, stroking his cheek with a finger. "You really will kill yourself if you don't stop." She replaced her hand on his chest, feeling his shift to grasp it. She could feel his heart beat growing fainter. "Don't you dare die on me. I don't want to have to end the war without you."

"Is… All… I'm good… For?"

She laughed a little and shook her head. "Of course not. Just… don't die, okay? In fact, if you don't I'll marry you."

"Promise?"

"Yes. I promise. If you live, I'll marry you." His fingers started fidgeting, attempting to remove the ring that was on his middle finger. She took his hand carefully and pulled it off for him.

"Keep it," he rasped.

"But it's your royalty ring."

"Temporary… Engagement. Keep it. It… Adjusts…"

She hesitantly slipped it on her left ring finger, watching it shrink three sizes to fit her smaller fingers. When she looked back at him, his eyes were closed, chest moving faintly.

~o~

She was furious with the Narian King. And that fury could not possibly be contained any longer than it already had been. Kyoya was sleeping, now bandaged up and on his way to recovery. She looked down at the once too-big ring on her finger that served as her temporary engagement ring. He'd almost died and the Narian King was to blame. To think that he had ordered his own son to assassinate the Kiran General and second-in-command. His _son_. When there were dangers that he couldn't even know about or plan for.

She examined the ring for a while in an attempt to calm down. It was rather simple at first glance but intricate when looked at closer. It was thicker than most rings, nearly a quarter inch, but it seemed to suit him when she thought about it. Silver inlaid with two circular amethysts, one on the top that had the Narian royal Ohtori family crest engraved and the one on the opposing side Kyoya's initials. Connecting them were intricate grape vines, winding around the ring, being stopped only at the midpoints between the stones by two other engravings that seemed to be wound into the vines themselves: a number 4 and the initials M and Y. She frowned. She'd have to ask him about that later.

"The M and Y are mine and my wife's first initials," a voice spoke from the doorway. She jumped without meaning to. King Yoshio stood by the door, watching her fiddle with his son's ring. "When he wears it on his middle finger anyone looking at it reads it as Narian Prince Kyoya Ohtori fourth born of Mayumi and Yoshio." Her eyebrows turned down slightly. Why was he being so helpful? "What I want to know is how you got it off his finger?"

"Why?" she asked hesitantly.

"He's the only one that can remove it. It has a protection charm on it to prevent theft and ensure identification."

"He… gave it to me. For a temporary engagement ring."

"Really? Interesting…" He didn't say anything for a while, obviously thinking about something. "How is he?" he finally asked.

"Better… No thanks to you," she muttered, taking Kyoya's hand and squeezing carefully. "He was fine fighting until Larsen got extra angry about him killing Fusawa. Since he was angry too, they were kind of sloppy. Larsen got Kyoya first. The thing is… Some of his organs were burned because of it; I think that nearly killed him almost as much as the blood loss." She stopped, just looking at Kyoya, remembering all the blood that had been on him. How he'd practically been choking on it. She shook her head and spoke again softly, her voice bitter. "How… How can you send your own son in to do your dirty work? Did you even know the dangers? Did you know he could die?"

"It wasn't likely that he would, being Filandrian Hand-to-Hand Combat Champion."

"He was angry. Everyone fights recklessly when they're angry," she growled. "Did you know that Larsen had a cursed short-sword?"

"I did not."

"That was the thing I was most worried about. And you didn't know about it. You didn't know about the one thing that could possibly kill your son."

"And how did you know about it?" Yoshio asked sharply.

She stared at him, her anger only building at his assumptive attitude. "He used it on _me_! When I was held captive by the Kiran army. Did no one tell you that Yuki was kidnapped? I traded myself for her and they tortured me with that godforsaken blade that burns you from the inside out! Right in front of him! The same thing would have happened to Kyoya if Hunny hadn't pulled the fire out of him! He would have _burned _to death." She stopped, breathing heavily and standing now without even realizing that she had. "And _you _sent him into that without even _knowing_."

"Are you finished?"

"No… I don't like how you treat him either. Like he's any less of a human being than his brothers. Or everything that he's ever done that even slightly went against your orders is a mistake. I can't stand that you treat him like that when he tries so hard to please you!" Her breathing evened out a bit as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

He waited a few moments before replying to her rant. "I knew the Kiran army would not likely join back with the royal court unless Fusawa and Larsen were taken out. I trusted him to follow through and take precautions. I knew about the dangers, though the blade I did not. It was a miscalculation of mine that he would become angry enough that it made him sloppy. As it is now, he will be fine, injured or not, and the Kiran royal court should more easily be able to regain control of their military so we will not be at war with two Kiran entities."

She stared at the Narian King then sat heavily, asking wearily, "Why him?"

"His skills at combat were necessary but his prior conflict with them involving Yuki's kidnapping and your capture allowed me to write their deaths off as Kyoya seeking revenge, making it a separate motive from the war. Since this gives the Kiran royal court the exact opportunity they need to regain control of their army, I'm almost completely positive that they won't retaliate for their deaths. As for my treatment of Kyoya, I don't believe that's any of your business. I will parent him as I wish and do so for a specific reason." He stopped abruptly and gave her a cold stare. "Miss Yukikawa, I did not need to explain myself to you. Consider this a one-time privilege as next time I will not tolerate being spoken to in such a manner."

"How did you expect me to react when my fiance could be dying?" she muttered just barely under her breath. The King caught it however and narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"Haruhi?" Kyoya moaned under his breath. She looked toward him quickly, all thoughts of the Narian King vanishing in an instant. "Stop trying to aggravate him."

"I wasn't-"

"Don't," he said sharply, giving her a threatening look before turning his eyes to his father. "I apologize if her behavior insulted you, _Uherfa_." Haruhi snorted, earning her another glare from the youngest Ohtori. "She's… obviously very protective of me." He looked toward his fiancé and swallowed. "Haruhi… Let us talk alone for a bit?" She rolled her eyes but nodded in consent, standing and leaving the room.

"She tells me that you're engaged." He nodded slowly. "Did you take the ring off or did she do it?"

"She did, I think. I honestly don't remember. We were planning on telling you as soon as I was well again." His father's expression was one of distaste, forcing him to sigh. "May I remind you that you were the one that wanted me married by my 22nd birthday? Haruhi's the only one that I'd be inclined to marry. And I believe her diligence in caring for me even when I deceived her deserves the right to be my wife and wear a Narian crown."

"That would be my job to judge."

"Father, no one's going to care that she's a mutt."

"I do."

"You're the only one that does. Yuiichi and Fuyumi both approve. I'm sure that the Narian people wouldn't mind a bit so long as I am married. I don't see what the problem is. I'm the youngest so as long as I marry it shouldn't matter at all who she is as long as she's proven to deserve me." He stopped to take a few deep breaths. Haruhi was right. He shouldn't talk so much.

His father sighed. "Did you hear our entire conversation?"

"No. Just the last part."

"She's very protective. And I've never known anyone besides your mother who stood up to me in such a way. You care for her in a similar way, I presume?" Kyoya merely nodded, his throat suddenly dry. "Fine. For now, you have my permission to marry. If she once steps out of line though, she's gone."

"Yes, Father," Kyoya murmured, bowing his head as well as he could from his laying position in bed. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, boy," Yoshio growled, turning and exiting the room. Haruhi scurried back in moments after his exit.

"Well?" she asked softly, sitting beside him.

"He's allowing us to marry. Just don't step out of line again, Haruhi. He'll destroy you if you do."

She let out a gently sigh and took his hand. "You better heal up then. If we're going to get married then there's going to be a lot of planning that needs doing. Plus someone's going to have to tell my father and Tamaki."

Kyoya gazed at her. There were slight bags under her eyes from her sleepless nights sitting by his bed. Her posture screamed of her true exhaustion. He was getting to marry this woman finally. This woman who cared for and might even love him. Yet when she leaned down and kissed him, he wasn't completely sure if she really wanted this.

"Go to sleep," he murmured, pulling her close with an arm around her waist. "You deserve it." She burrowed under the covers, smiling a bit with her head on his shoulder.

~o~

**A/N: Aw shucks. Too late for the June chapter. But bear with me, June was a busy month between moving and graduating and all that fun stuff. Thus, I will try (key word here is TRY) to get a second chapter up this month. No promises though. **

**Kudos to: Cristine, Nessie-san, Magpie09, LuxenShadow123, Mrs. Ootori43ver, iXheartXrecX75, BitterBreak, and Koharu Veddette! **


	32. 30: The Meeting of Seven

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 30 – The Meeting of Seven_

It took a while but between Haruhi and Yuiichi's magic, Kyoya eventually healed well enough to move about again. The couple rarely ever spoke about their engagement or the strained emotions that they had yet to admit were there. They avoided speaking about emotion at all when possible.

Haruhi also had yet to message Tamaki and her father to tell them about their engagement. Finally, while on a walk in the garden, Kyoya murmured, "Have you told them yet?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled distractedly. He took her left hand, now ringed with a diamond engraved with the Narian crest, in his re-ringed right and twisted her ring gently. She sighed and shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I want to tell them in person. Somehow, I feel as though that would upset Tamaki the least."

He raised an eyebrow at her and intertwined his fingers with hers. "If you think so," he muttered shortly. "We'll need to meet with Tamaki and the twins soon anyway though to try and brainstorm a plan of some kind."

"Where the hell could we meet that wouldn't be noticed?"

"Pait. Fuyumi and Fuko can easily cover up our absence and Tamaki's as diplomatic relations. It'll be entirely coincidental that we're there at the same time. Or at least it will seem that way to everyone else."

"Have you talked to them about this yet?"

"I mentioned it. Not in detail though. Kaoru had previously been working at getting Fusawa off his and Hikaru's tails. Should see how that's going now." Haruhi scowled at him while a small smirk lit his face.

"That's not funny," she reprimanded softly, "You almost died."

"And yet I'm still walking beside you without a problem. Not to mention, I now get to marry you as I wanted."

She rolled her eyes. She didn't understand how he could be humorous about a situation that he'd almost died from. Regardless of the apparent benefits that it reaped for him. She felt his fingers break away from hers and sighed to herself. That was another thing that had changed since the Kiran General's assassination.

Every touch meant something more than it had before. Every touch, glance, look, squeeze, kiss, meant _something_. What exactly she couldn't really be sure of. But it was somehow different from before. Every time he came near her, she could practically hear her own heart pounding in her chest in time to the dull ache that started when he moved away. She wanted to be around him all the time – not matter how much she tried to berate herself into thinking otherwise.

He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Coming?" he asked simply. She nodded.

No other words were spoken of either a meeting or their emotions and Haruhi allowed the musings that plagued her to drift away.

~o~

She should have been fully prepared for at least three sweeping hugs, but somehow the idea of preparing for them had slipped her mind with the more pressing thought of the news she had to present to her three arriving friends. Hunny and Mori were in the adjoining room in the Paitet castle waiting for… what she didn't know exactly. Something interesting. Kyoya was off making final preparations for Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru's arrival.

And she was left to let her nerves run their final course.

How on earth was she going to tell her three best friends that she was engaged to someone that at least one of them held an extreme dislike for?

How could she say that without admitting that she had feelings for him?

"Haruhi!" a voice called to her from down the hall. She sighed and stood, pushing her nerves aside for the moment in order to fully greet them. As soon as she stepped into the hall, her mind flooded as Tamaki swung her into a hug and released her, only to be sandwiched in between the Hitachiin twins.

Kyoya stood to the side, observing the exchange silently with Mori. Hunny greeted the Kiran Prince and his former comrades with enthusiasm. And then, just when she was starting to feel happiness swell inside her, it exploded as she caught sight of her father.

"_Faetha!_" she cried, running toward him. He caught her with a grunt and sank to his knees.

"Oh, _sha litre gipsy_." He kissed the sides and top of her head repeatedly until she finally pulled away with one more squeeze.

"What are you doing here?" Ranka merely looked toward her fiancé. She looked toward him as well, noting his gentle smile as he pushed off from the wall and strode away from them.

She felt a smile of her own coming to her lips, her mind putting together the pieces to puzzle out how and why her father was there. She squeezed her father's hand once then hurried ahead of him until she caught up to Kyoya. "Sometimes I feel as though you show me a kindness that I don't deserve," she murmured, feeling the gaze of the others behind them.

"I don't think I understand what you mean," he replied softly.

She sighed and said, "You arranged for my father to join us, didn't you? For me?"

"I did arrange it," he admitted after a moment and a small breathy laugh. "However, we can't plan to end the war without the insight of the Moradian King can we?" he added questioningly, striding ahead of her again. She slowed and fell back with her father and Tamaki.

"You have something on your mind, Haruhi?" her father breathed, glancing at her. Tamaki, seeming to sense the private conversation, hurried ahead to catch up with the twins.

"He can't just admit that he did something good for someone," she whispered, frowning slightly. "He's… so kind but he just refuses to show it as kindness. It always has to be covered by some… business venture."

"The Ohtoris have always been like that," Ranka stated. "Yoshio was the same before his wife died. _Before _he took down Mora. To them, showing kindness is showing a weakness that can be exploited. Do not hold it against him. It's what he was taught."

"I hate it," she mumbled.

"But I notice that you don't hate _him_." His voice held a sly teasing tone. She could feel her face heating up, to which Ranka just chuckled. "Oh to be young and in love."

"I am _not _in love," she denied quickly.

"Deny it all you wish, my child. It still does not change the fact that the feelings are _there_. And he obviously cares for you to some degree." She nodded thoughtfully, getting lost in her mind until her father pulled her out with his next words. "I'm surprised that he hasn't proposed to you. Or that you aren't at least thinking about marriage by this point."

She felt her face paling and snuck a glanced at Ryoji. He caught her look and scowled questioningly. "About that…"

"What?" Ranka shrieked, immediately losing all his calm in replacement of pure excited shock. "How long have you-?!"

"Shhh," she hissed, "I don't want the others to know yet!"

"How long?" he insisted, stopping right there in the middle of the hall to interrogate his daughter.

"About… 3 weeks."

"And _why_ didn't I get notice of this sooner?! My little girl is getting married! I want to know about it!"

"I'm sorry! Jeez! I wanted to tell you in person!"

"Haruhi Kotoko Fujioka!"

"Dad! Shut up!"

They had finally reached the library doors behind everyone else, all of whom were staring at the father-daughter pair with either confusion or amusement. Haruhi caught Kyoya's smirk most prominently among the six looks they were receiving and shot a glare his way.

"Tell him, did you?" Kyoya asked, his smirk only growing.

"Show me," Ranka insisted then, crossing his arms over his chest and jutting his hip out. She groaned.

"Show you what?"

"You know what!" he exclaimed, grabbing hold of her left hand and bringing it to his eye level. She sighed in embarrassment and looked away from him as he squealed with delight. The twins and Tamaki both looked over curiously. Hikaru's mouth bent down in an outraged frown as he caught sight of the ring on her finger. Kaoru's twisted into a sad kind of smile. Tamaki's face remained blank.

"What's this?" he asked in a far-off voice.

"Oh… Um… This is my… Uh…"

"Engagement ring," Kyoya finished for her helpfully.

"To _who_?" Hikaru asked, voice outraged as much as the look on his face. Then he whirled around to face Kyoya, sticking a finger in his face. "_You_?"

"Yes, actually," the Ohtori remained calm as all hell broke loose.

"What gives you the right?" Hikaru yelled.

"Why does _he _get to marry Haruhi?" Tamaki added, now looking annoyed. She sighed and shook her head while Kyoya looked at her.

"Is _this _what you wanted?"

"Shut up," she growled at him. "Hikaru, Tamaki, stop. Now." They ignored the command until she practically yelled, "SHUT UP." Every person in the room stared at her like she'd grown a third head. "It was not _just _him. I had to choose to say yes first." Tamaki started to open his mouth but closed it again with one glare from her. "And I did. So do not go blaming Kyoya for this. Don't… be angry at him for anything. He merely asked to put the ring on my finger, and I let him. I ask that you respect my decision."

"Why him though?" Hikaru demanded.

"Who else would I..?" She stopped and shut her eyes quickly, realization coming to her. "You? Kaoru? Tamaki?" She shook her head. "Hikaru," she murmured gently, "You _know _that you and Kaoru are like brothers to me. And Tamaki…" The blonde looked up at his name. "Tamaki is too." She didn't even want to try and explain all her thoughts regarding the idea of marrying Prince Tamaki Suoh. "I love you all. But… not that way."

"So you love him then?" It was the first time Kaoru had spoken throughout the entire fiasco. She sucked in a breath and felt Kyoya's gaze on her in an instant, heating up her skin with his intensity. "You love Kyoya like that?"

She drew in a deep breath, not sure how to respond. Luckily, Kyoya rescued her. "Haruhi and I came to the mutual decision that we cared about each other in a way that was not just friendly but wasn't loving either," he stated carefully, looking to her from confirmation, which she gave in the form of a relieved sigh. "And we can use Haruhi's and my marriage to aid in ending the war."

She narrowed her eyes the tiniest bit at him in confusion. Kyoya gazed back at her in his usual calm fashion. "I will explain once we're actually _seated_," he added softly, his fingers wrapping around hers and leading her to a table in the library with 8 seats. She sat in the chair that he courteously pulled out for her before seating himself. "First I will ask that Mori repeat the prophecy for us."

He did in his deep monotone, sending shivers up Haruhi's spine. Ranka glanced at her somewhere in the middle of it but she paid him no mind.

Once Mori was finished, Ranka spoke softly, "Your curse… It's going to be broken."

"How?" Haruhi asked him, eyes meeting his quickly and searching his face, which had broken out in a smile. "What gives you that idea?"

"'_A soul most unwilling, finally free,'_" he quoted, staring at her with relieved joy. "That has to be you being freed from your curse."

"I don't even know _how _to break my curse," she said, trying to reason with him without killing all his hope. "And if that means my curse is going to be broken then what about the _'After life's red river accordingly flows'_ part? Does that mean that I have to _die _for my curse to be broken?" Her father sighed in defeat. "I don't want to kill your spirit, Dad… But there has to be something else."

Ranka just looked back toward Kyoya, who looked between the two with mild interest. "Anyway… Continue Kyoya?"

The Narian nodded once in respect. "I've been thinking a lot lately about my parents' marriage. It ended the Tribal-Filandrian war. After Haruhi agreed to marry me, it occurred to me that our marriage could be a similar way to end the Narian-Kiran war."

"How so?" Hikaru asked, curious now.

"It is a conflict between Nari and Kira over the treatment of Moradian land and citizens. Haruhi is Moradian royalty and Kiran royal court. I am Narian royalty. As such, our marriage could be the binding factor in a peace treaty between the three countries, assuming that Ranka would be willing to come out of hiding as the Moradian King to sign for Mora, of course."

"Your father will never agree to it," the Moradian man stated, looking at the younger with a sad smile. "As soon as he discovers that Haruhi is the Moradian Princess, he'll cancel the marriage and have her killed."

"Not if we don't tell him until after the fact," Kyoya replied, his smirk reappearing on his face. "He wouldn't dare execute the wife of one of his sons. Moradian or not."

"You're going to lie to your father about my identity and then tell him about it _after _we're married and just _hope _that he agrees to a peace treaty _after the fact_?" Haruhi demanded, voice incredulous. "That's… That's _insane_. How do you even know it will work?"

"I don't. As you said, I just hope that he'll consider the peace treaty because of us."

"What about the Witch?" Kaoru asked, letting his fingers form a steeple in front of his face as he thought.

"She has close ties with your family, doesn't she, Kyoya?" Tamaki asked. "Surely she'll be present at the wedding."

"We'll have to find a way to hide Haruhi's identity until after we're wed."

"As soon as that veil comes off, she'll recognize her," Hikaru added his input.

"She looks too much like her mother," Hunny interjected.

"And then she'll kill me." The room fell silent at Haruhi's words. "Which would completely destroy the idea of presenting a peace treaty to your father as it would then be irrelevant as well as saving him the job of killing me himself."

"If she so much as lays a harmful finger on you after we're married, I have the authority to banish her from Nari," Kyoya said sharply, fiercely.

"And, I'll technically have the authority to banish her from Kira, as well," Tamaki added softly. Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Harming a royal court member is violating the terms of her agreement with my father."

"So… If she touches me… Then she's permanently banished from Filandria," Haruhi murmured, her thoughts going haywire with the introduction of this new information. "So if we set it up so that she hurt me after we were married, then she'd be gone forever."

"Haruhi, we're not going to purposely let you get hurt," Kyoya said, reading the direction of her thoughts immediately and shutting them down. "We're not going to use you as bait."

"But then… We'd never have to worry about her. Ever again. Wouldn't that be great?" she insisted, battling with him in a game of wills.

"I won't let my wife be bait. Not when there's a possibility of fatality."

"We can have the twins, Hunny, and Mori on security to ensure that I'm _not _fatally injured."

"No, Haruhi."

"But—"

"I said, no." The couple stared at each other hard, eyes locked for several minutes of silence.

"I'm not a fragile little flower or something, Kyoya," she murmured.

"I'm not going to risk your life."

"I'll be fine."

"I'm not risking it, Haruhi. End of discussion."

"Kyoya—"

"I won't let you become another Saren!"

He let out a frustrated breath, tearing his gaze away from her. She looked at him, understanding appearing in her features. No one else at the table understood the implications he'd placed on that very sentence, nor who Saren was. It didn't matter, though. She knew what it meant and it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

"Sooooo," Kaoru let his vowel draw out in an attempt to diffuse the tension that had just appeared in the room. "What's the plan exactly?"

Kyoya took a deep breath to plunge into explanation but Hunny beat him to the punch. "We draw up a peace treaty before the wedding. Kyo-_ianc _and Haru_-kisci_ get married, keeping Haru-_kisci_'s identity a secret. We reveal hers and Ranka's identities to King Yoshio, ask him to consider the treaty, and hope for the best."

"Perfect," Kyoya complimented his restatement of the conversation. "Is it a clear plan to everyone?" Nods around the table were seen. Kyoya glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Tamaki and I will be in touch in order to put together a proper treaty that both countries will agree to." The blonde and Ohtori made eye contact for several seconds.

"Hikaru and Kaoru will return to the Kiran army and make sure that no one there causes trouble."

"Hunny and Mori-."

"Will continue working for your brother," Hunny interrupted quickly, "And we will make sure that your family stays out of the way of your plans to the best of our abilities. _As well _as the Narian army."

Kyoya nodded once in agreement. "And Ranka—"

"Will agree to _any _terms placed in the treaty as long as citizenship and equality of Moradians is accepted by both Kira and Nari. That is the only requirement I have for signing the treaty."

"It will be included," Kyoya promised solemnly.

"I will also be your eyes in the Kiran royal court, seeing as Tamaki cannot always be present." Kyoya smiled in thanks, taking a final look around the table before standing, pulling Haruhi with him in the process. "Good. Now… Dinner is probably ready, so I suggest all of us go down."

~o~

**A/N: So. Short. Ugh. But good stopping spot AAAAAAND my month is up. Forgive me. But hey… I have another month of summer still when normally I'd be going back to school in like… two weeks. (Oh college….) **

**Kudos to: Nessie-san, Koharu Veddette, Cactus2008, rephiamlovers123, Magpie09, LuxenShadow123, Phenix31, LittleLiar666, and Mrs. Ootori43ver!**


	33. 31: Denied Admittance

_Lost in the Dark_

_By E.M. Megs_

_Chapter 31 – Denied Admittance_

Dinner could have been more awkward. So she was at least thankful that it hadn't gone too far. Fuko Shido looked a bit overwhelmed by his current company. However, his wife was faring quite well as she chatted animatedly to Tamaki and the twins with Hunny interjecting every once in a while. Haruhi remained quiet, sneaking a glance at her fiancé a couple times.

When the subject of Kyoya and Haruhi's engagement came up, Fuyumi rounded on her brother angrily. "_Why _was I not informed of this sooner?!" she exclaimed, giving the youngest Narian Prince a glare that would have frozen over hell. Haruhi almost choked on her drink.

Kyoya merely raised an eyebrow at his sister and murmured, "I was not aware that you needed to know, Fuyumi."

"You're not the only one they neglected to tell," Ranka muttered sourly, giving his daughter a look.

Haruhi glared at her father. "How are you sore about that _now_? When I told you, you were _ecstatic_!"

"_Of course _I needed to know!" Fuyumi fumed, "I'm your big sister! I'm going to help plan the wedding!"

Haruhi looked up in alarm. "Er… What?" she asked.

"Oh, I _must _help you plan it, Haruhi!"

The Moradian glanced at her fiancé for help. Kyoya just shrugged his shoulders. "It's up to you," he said quietly. "It might be a good idea though since you aren't particularly well versed in Narian wedding traditions."

"Do you have a date yet?" Haruhi noticed the twins and Tamaki stiffening more and more the longer this topic went on.

Kyoya didn't seem to be as observant. "I was thinking perhaps a _uerwin_ wedding would suffice. Haruhi?"

She glanced at him. It was currently the middle of summer. Would she be ready to marry Kyoya by winter? In just 6 short months? "I suppose so," she muttered in consent, looking anywhere but her best friend and his sad expression.

"She'll wear a traditional Moradian dress, if I have any say in it!" Ranka interjected energetically. "Or at least something similar!"

"Our mother can design one for you!" the twins chimed instantaneously.

Now they were just getting ahead of themselves. "Stop," she stated, "No more talk of this. We will plan later." She just barely caught the shaking of Kyoya's shoulders has he laughed silently. She shot a glare his direction and felt the replying squeeze of her hand.

"Haruhi's right," he said with mirth still clearly laced in his voice, "There's plenty of time to plan later, Fuyumi."

"But there's so much to do!" she very nearly whined.

Kyoya gave her a pointed look that said to drop the conversation. "Haruhi and I will return later to plan the wedding with you. This trip was not created purely to announce our engagement, though Father will not make it public for at least another month, I'm sure."

"He probably thinks that it won't last," Ranka's voice carried across the table, chilling in its accuracy of the Narian King's exact thoughts.

"You seem to know my father well," Fuyumi murmured, narrowing her eyes just a little at the redhead. "King Ryoji, I presume?" A pleasant smile came to her face. Haruhi glanced at her father then shot Kyoya a look.

"Yes," Ranka said without a moment's hesitation. "Pleasure to see you, Fuyumi Ohtori-Shido, Queen of Pait and Princess of Nari." They seemed to share a secret smile for a split second and Haruhi wondered what the hell her father was playing at. Obviously he was hiding something from her.

"Do you two… Know each other?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, certainly," Fuyumi said with a wide smile in her direction. The brunette nearly balked in surprise to which Ranka chuckled and allowed the Paitet Queen to explain. "I met Ryoji when I was a child before the tension between Mora and Nari and before he took over the throne from his uncle."

Haruhi didn't quite understand and showed it with a confused look.

"I distinctly remember that you and your mother are the reason that I met Kotoko." Ranka had a fond look on his face as if he were remembering something.

Haruhi, however, started in surprise and said rather loudly, "WHAT?"

No one explained any further, leaving Haruhi with more questions than answers. How had she never known that her parents had met thanks to Mayumi and Fuyumi Ohtori? Why had she never asked?

Kyoya chuckled at her perplexed expression and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to upstairs."

Fuyumi raised an eyebrow at him as he stood and left. Seconds later it was like he was never even in the room. Haruhi, after several moments of the exhausting presences of the twins, Tamaki, and her father, and the lack of nearly the only sane person in the room, rubbed her temples a bit and excused herself to follow her fiancé.

When she entered their shared quarters she found him relaxing on the bed with his hands clasped behind his head. She almost didn't want to disturb his peaceful state. Instead, she discovered that she automatically began speaking, "This is the business you had upstairs?"

He opened one eye but otherwise seemed disinterested with her presence. "Is there a problem with wanting a few minutes to myself?" he retorted softly.

She shook her head and walked over to sit on the bed next to him. His eye closed once more, obviously showing that he was perfectly content with her being there. "They are tiresome," she murmured, brushing his bangs out of his face with gentle, nimble fingers. He was quiet. "Are you alright?"

He hummed in response. A definite yes. "What would make you think something was wrong?"

"I don't know… You can be infuriatingly difficult to read sometimes. I couldn't be sure. You seemed rather quiet at dinner though too."

"As were you."

She smiled and nodded a little. "Is there… something bothering you?"

He didn't respond for the longest time and she almost thought that he'd fallen asleep until he sighed and opened his eyes. "Why did you agree to marry me?" If she hadn't seen his lips moving then she probably would have thought she imagined the question.

"Who else would I?"

"You could have just waited until later in life. You are not pressed to marry, Haruhi. Why did you agree to me?"

She stared at him, sensing that he wanted to hear a specific response but not sure if that was something she could admit to him. "You're the most logical choice, Kyoya," she said after a moment of thought. "You'll make me happy while also keeping your emotions in check - which is hardly something those idiots can accomplish. You just… fit." She smiled a little but he frowned.

"That can't be it," he stated. "You wouldn't marry someone based purely on logic and politics, Haruhi."

She gritted her teeth, knowing now what he wanted her to say. She bit her lip and turned away from him. She felt his hand on her shoulder, pulling her back until he could hold her face in his hands. "Do you actually _want _to marry me, Haruhi?"

She sucked in a deep breath at the question and looked into his eyes. "Yes," she muttered hoarsely.

"Why?"

She swallowed back the lump in her throat, her chest ached very dully. His face was only inches from hers. She closed the gap in response to his questioning. One of her hands found its way to his chest as he tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss, his eyes closing in response. He relaxed back against the pillows that he was previously propped up on, pulling her with him. She pulled back when the pain in her chest became too much. "Are you really going to make me say it?" she whispered, eyes begging him to just let it go.

He stared up at her, one hand still cupping her cheek. Then he shook his head. She shut her eyes and let her head rest against his chest. "I don't want to force you to do anything," he murmured in explanation for his actions. "I got the feeling that you didn't actually want to marry me."

"I do," she said quietly.

"I still wanted to make sure."

She sighed softly and shut her eyes, allowing herself to soak in his warmth…

Until her father barged in.

"WHAT'S THIS?" he demanded, a frown on his face and his hands firmly placed on his hips. "What do you two think you're doing?"

"Dad," Haruhi groaned.

"Just because you're engaged does NOT mean that you get to sleep together!"

"Dad."

"This isn't allowed! I don't care if you're consenting adults-"

"Dad!"

"Yes sweetie?" In an instant, her stern no-funny-business father was replaced with her normal shining sweet one.

"Please get out. Kyoya and I are tired and this is _not _the first night we've slept in the same bed. He's never done anything to me that I'm sure you're thinking about." She rolled her eyes as her father's frown deepened at being caught. "Dad, we've been sleeping together since my first night in the castle as a female."

His eyes widened slightly. "WHAT?! THAT'S SO IMPROPER!"

"What else were we supposed to do? I was acting as his lover!"

Ranka nodded. She had a point. "Alright, fine," he huffed, "I'll leave you alone. No funny business though!"

The door closed abruptly and she nearly sighed with relief. "He's… eccentric," Kyoya commented drily.

She groaned. "Sometimes I think he wishes that I was still a teenager that he could dote on," she mumbled, "And order around. And forbid from doing things." She scowled. He chuckled and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"At least he loves you." She lifted her head and looked him in the eye. His voice had sounded wistful somehow and his eyes held some twinge of sadness.

"Your sister loves you," she said softly, "And Yuiichi at least cares… And I…" She trailed off and looked away quickly. Maybe someday she'd be able to actually say it, but not any time soon.

~o~

She knew it was coming, but that didn't change the fact that nothing could have truly prepared her for it. Tamaki cornered her finally while she was on a walk to clear her head in the garden. She sighed and patted the stone bench beside her as an invitation for him to sit. He sat slowly, without his normal exuberance, and that was when she knew that this was going to hurt.

She wasn't even exactly sure what he was going to say and she knew that it was going to hurt.

"What do you need me to say, Tamaki?" she murmured. She knew he needed something. Some kind of closure. It was just the way that the blonde worked. He always required closure of some kind, even if they were going to see each other again in the morning. The blonde was thoughtfully quiet for a long time. A breeze blew through her hair.

"Do you love him?" he finally asked. She let out an exasperated sigh. Why did everyone ask her that?

"Why does it matter?" she retorted with a gentle snort.

His eyes darkened slightly with hurt and he frowned at her. "Because… You're my best friend. If I'm going to let anyone take you away, I want to make sure that you're happy."

She let out the breath that she hadn't known she had been holding. It wasn't like she didn't know the answer already; she just didn't want to say it out loud for fear of what might happen if she did. "I can't say," she said finally, voice soft.

"What are you afraid of, Namahi? Are you afraid that saying it will somehow just trigger your curse because I really don't remember anything being said about you killing someone if_ you_ fell in love?" He paused and stared at her, then drew in a deep breath and asked again, "Do you love Kyoya?"

She felt some resemblance of tears building in her eyes but blinked them away and nodded numbly. The breath that Tamaki had drawn in and held came out in a puff. "That's what I thought," he said quietly. "You'll be happy with him then?"

"I hope so." She tried not to wince at the hoarseness of her own voice or the way that it cracked on the last word.

"Okay… One more question."

"Hmm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She drew back like he had slapped her with a fish. "What?" she demanded sharply, heart practically pulling itself out of her chest.

"Just one. So I can know how he feels."

Her chest gave a horrible wrench that she could have sworn was almost audible. She ground her teeth together and clenched a hand into a fist at her side. She was going to hate herself for this later…

"I suppose."

Tamaki bit his lip, as if unsure of his own question, then leaned forward and sealed his lips over hers. He pulled away after only a few seconds and looked at her. "That…"

"Felt like kissing your brother?" she finished hesitantly.

He nodded, face ashen. Her heart relaxed and she nearly let out an audible sigh of relief at the pressure that it released. "Kyoya's still lucky though…"

"Why's that?"

"He gets to keep you close to him." She laughed a little at his childish pout only to stop when she found herself being pulled into his arms. Haruhi allowed herself to wrap her arms around him in return. "Really though, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," she mumbled, just barely catching the glint of glass and flash of black hair out of the corner of her eye. An overwhelming sense of dread started to fill her but she ignored it until Tamaki brought it to her attention.

"Was that Kyoya?"

She buried her face in his shoulder. "I think so…"

She just hoped that he hadn't heard _too _much.

~o~

Haruhi wanted to tear her hair out. She simply could not escape the inquisitive minds of her friends. Tamaki had been doubtful and then simply resigned. Hikaru was currently staring at her like he hadn't known her his entire life, his words bitter and angry.

"I don't want to fight with you over this, Hikaru."

"You're marrying the biggest bastard on the planet, Haruhi."

"He's not as bad as you think he is."

The redhead snorted spitefully. "Right. Because he's only threatened your life and hurt you _how _many times?"

"He's saved my life far more than he's ever threatened it," she bit back harshly, unwilling to argue with him yet finding herself unable to stop from defending her fiancé.

"Name them." She stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "I mean it, Haruhi. If he's saved your life so many times then prove it."

"I shouldn't have to defend myself or _him_ for you. It's _my _choice. I trust him with my life, Hikaru."

"Yes. Smart decision that will turn out being when he betrays you to get the crown of Nari."

"He's not _like that_!" Then, frustrated beyond belief she began listing every occurrence she could think of where he had directly or indirectly saved her life. "He saved me in the dungeon when I was captured. He spared my life even though I betrayed him. He could have had me executed so many times for so many different reasons but he didn't. After the assassination attempt when Yuiichi wanted me dead, he fought to keep me safe. He hid me when the Witch visited. He-"

"He stabbed you at the festival."

"That was not entirely his fault and it's expected when fighting during the games! He healed my father. And bargained away Narian lands as a ransom to get me home. But most of all he took me in when General Fusawa wanted to kill me. He saved my life by letting them amputate my leg, Hikaru. He's protected me far more than I ever expected him to. Far more than I ever asked him to or even deserved."

"That may be but he still-"

"Don't you _dare_ say that he is still an enemy of Mora. Mora doesn't exist anymore. And even if it did, he's kept my identity a secret. And it is not _him _who's the enemy. It's his _father_. His father destroyed Mora not him. He's not at fault for what his father did!"

Hikaru pursed his lips; all his arguments refuted and dried up in the light of her determination. "You really do love him don't you?" he spat.

She looked at him and that one glance was all the answer that he needed. He scoffed lightly and muttered, "Do _not _come crying to me when he breaks your heart, Haruhi. You hear me? I warned you. I will not listen to you cry over him and I won't sympathize in the slightest."

She nodded and pulled him toward her, feeling his arms wrap around her in return. "You're my best friend," the older Hitachiin whispered, "Please don't get hurt."

"I won't," she promised, pulling back and smiling at him. "I'm more cautious than you think I am."

He snorted. "Right. Sure."

~o~

The day that the Kiran party was to leave, Haruhi was torn between being upset and wanting to get them out of her hair as soon as possible. Kyoya, of course, looked more than happy to see the hostile Hikaru and flamboyant Tamaki go. Kaoru and Ranka were another matter entirely. Haruhi glanced at her fiancé out of the corner of her eye as she watched them pile their luggage into the carriage they were going to squeeze into. He hadn't spoken to her much over the last few days apart from clipped short sentences when she asked questions. She started to wonder if he was angry at her for something.

Kaoru took her aside and she nearly sighed in exasperation. Did all of them really need to come to her one at a time? Seriously? Couldn't they all just confront her together and make life easy for her for once? As it was, she let herself be pulled away from everyone else. He spoke in low tones. "You be careful alright? Hikaru's right not to trust Kyoya completely." When she opened her mouth to protest he silenced her with a finger on her lips, adding, "But I understand why you do." The younger twin's eyes softened slightly as he bowed. "I wish you all the happiness in the world, Princess."

"Thank you," Haruhi whispered, embracing him. He squeezed her tightly, only letting go somewhat reluctantly when Tamaki demanded that he release her so she could say goodbye to her best friend. Kaoru scoffed and commented, "What makes you think that _you're _her best friend?"

Hikaru took the distraction as a welcome to wish her farewell, his eyes worn and worried though guarded. "Good luck," he told her sternly. "And for God's sake, _look after yourself._ I want to hear about it the moment that there's anything wrong or any danger, alright?"

"I'll be _fine_," she insisted stubbornly, hugging the Hitachiin briefly. He seemed to pull away from her much sooner than he normally would have, his eyes darting to glare threateningly at Kyoya, who didn't seem to take any notice of the exchange.

Both twins eventually made their way into the carriage after grudgingly shaking the Ohtori's hand. Tamaki made his way over to her after enthusiastically hugging Kyoya, who looked a bit ticked at the affection. Haruhi raised an eyebrow at her and muttered something about how he was going to get himself killed if he kept blatantly throwing affection around to those who didn't want it. He just grinned at her and pulled her into his arms, effectively smothering her protests.

When she managed to untangle herself from the idiot prince she noticed that Kyoya had turned away. She frowned slightly. Tamaki followed her gaze. "Did you ever explain to him?"

"No," she murmured in reply, frown still firmly in place, "I had hoped that it would have been obvious to him."

"He's not you, Namahi," Tamaki said softly, gripping her shoulders and making her look at him. "And as much as it seems like he can, he can't read minds." Haruhi glanced at her fiancé again then back at her best friend, smiling grimly. "Chin up," the blonde said, tweaking her chin a bit. "You'll be fine and happily married to the man you love before you know it."

She tried smiling at that just to humor him but it came out as more of a grimace. "Whatever you say Idiot Prince." He bent and kissed her cheek before turning and entering the carriage with a last wave at Kyoya.

And finally came her father. His eyes were filling with tears before he even approached her, resulting in an emotional, nearly bone-crushing hug. "Dad!" she choked out, gasping for air, "You're suffocating me!" He held her all the more tighter.

"How can I possibly just leave you here and return to Kira?" he questioned softly, stroking her hair. "My only child all alone in the world."

"You know that's not true," she retorted, managing to push him away enough for her to breathe properly again. "I'll be fine. And you'll see me again soon."

"Yes," he muttered faintly, "When I'm about to hand you off to another man to take care of you."

She scowled. "I think I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"You are. I didn't mean that." Ranka sighed and took her face in his hands, bending down so he could look his daughter in the eyes. "I mean that I'll be handing you to someone else. To _live _with someone else where I can't protect you. And all I can really do is hope that I've done my job well enough that you manage to survive."

"Dad…" She couldn't speak, too overwhelmed by the emotions coming off of him in waves.

He wiped tears from his eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I've said it before, but I am so proud of you. You've become more than I thought possible even though you were raised in a way that was less than ideal with your mother gone." His forehead lowered to hers, his hands squeezing the sides of her head gently. "_Sha loa te, sha litre gipsi_," he breathed, "Or should I say, my strong young woman."

_"Sha loa te, tior, Faetha," _she mumbled in response. He released her, wiping his eyes and squeezing her slight body to his own again. There was a look of slight pain that passed over his features as they separated completely and he climbed the short steps to the inside of the carriage.

"Take care of my daughter, Kyoya!" her father called and Haruhi looked at him just in time to see the young Ohtori nod his head. The door shut behind him and seconds later, it was pulling away. She stared after it from next to Kyoya until it was out of sight, feeling him withdraw from her side and stride back into the Paitet palace without a word to her.

She let her face draw itself into a frown and sighed. She still felt like there was something wrong and though she knew what it was she really didn't want to breach the topic with him mostly out of fear that she'd say something she didn't want to.

She followed him at a much slower pace, determined to talk to him about it at some point that night, knowing somehow that she wouldn't get the opportunity until they were getting ready to sleep.

"I feel," she whispered as they lay next to each other ready to sleep but not to turn the light out, "like I've done something to upset you and I need to explain but I'm not sure what it is I've done." He snorted and reached over to blow out the candle. She placed a hand on his arm. "What have I done?"

Though he had stopped reaching for the candle he didn't speak until finally he said, "You said you wanted to marry me and yet I get the feeling that you're in love with Tamaki."

She nodded her head to confirm that that's what she thought. "I thought I saw you in the garden that day." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You're misunderstanding."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I saw you snogging him."

She raised an eyebrow at his word choice. "We were not _snogging_. It was one kiss because he requested it so he'd know how it felt. We both mutually concluded that it was like kissing a sibling." He snorted again as though he didn't believe her. "Why would I…? Kyoya, quit being jealous of him. Honestly, you have nothing to worry about."

"If any other prince had seen their fiancé kissing someone else, they'd have them either banished or executed."

"But you are not any other prince," she retorted lightly, glancing at him. "And I know that you are not even the slightest bit inclined to do away with me any time soon, jealous or not."

"I'm not jealous," he growled, finally snuffing out the candle and sinking under the covers. She fell silent with the darkness.

Then, "You wouldn't be acting like this if you weren't jealous."

"Haruhi."

"Kyoya, think about it. I have no reason to get involved with anyone else, let alone romantically." Then quieter, so he could hardly even hear her, "I couldn't do that to you even if I wanted to." She reached across the space between them and took his dimly lit face in her hands. "Sometimes you distance yourself so much that I feel as though you've gone somewhere that I'll never be able to reach you again. And most of the time I find that it's my fault." She drew a breath and began to withdraw only to have his fingers catch hold of hers. "If it makes you feel any better, I apologize."

She felt his breath waft over her knuckle as he brought them to his lips and her own caught.

"Just don't forget who you've promised yourself to," he murmured, lips brushing her skin as he spoke. She nodded.

"How could I?" The two lapsed into silence, his hands deftly keeping hold of hers until she'd drifted off to sleep.

~o~

**A/N: So… For the layout of this chapter I literally had my little ~o~ dividers written out with things placed in between like (Insert random dinner topics here), (Insert deep conversation with _ here), and (Insert teary goodbyes here). Mostly because I kept putting off writing it since I couldn't get the perfect scenes in my head (which is why this is late…. Sorry.) **

**Completely exhausted from my first quarter of college. And Christmas. And working nearly constantly all break. Don't hate me okay? I just got over a week long flu. Not to mention I've recently come across a renewed obsession with Artemis Fowl that I just can't get out of my head. (No seriously. All I've been doing all month when not working is reading Artemis Fowl fanfiction and re-reading the books. So actually… I have no excuse.) As such, be expecting Artemis Fowl one-shots out the ears over the next few weeks (if I get my way and avoid homework). **

**Happy New Year! Belated merry Christmas! I at least got it out on this side of the year? **

**Kudos to: isara-love, redmystique, Nessie-san, take the purple pill, Cactus2008, Magpie09, Hanna-chan, Mitsy-chan, Onigori1, Brianna Heap, Vangran, and Koharu Veddette! **

**Oh! A reminder to those that haven't heard. I created myself an author facebook that you can follow and/or friend if it so pleases you. I'm not picky on that account soooo. Yeah. Once I get a fair amount of followers on it, I'll start updating it (not to mention people can bother me to update there as well.) with where I am in chapters and such. Link in my profile~ **


	34. 32: Stricken

_Lost in the Dark _

_By E.M. Megs _

_Chapter 32 - Stricken_

There was an unusual summer windstorm the night that they left Pait for Nari. It rattled their carriage and had Haruhi sitting on the edge of her seat, gripping it with her eyes squeezed shut as tightly as she possibly could. Kyoya did the only thing he could and tugged her close to him by the shoulders, scowling out the window. Finally, they came to a stop that definitely wasn't the Narian palace.

The carriage driver opened the door, struggling to stay upright in the gusts. "We can't get the horses to go any farther, Your Highness! We have to take shelter! The storm's too strong!"

Kyoya gave a sharp nod and promptly scooped up a shivering Haruhi to carry her into the former Moradian inn that they'd stopped at. Only when inside did Haruhi uncover her ears and relax. The Narian Prince set her down and dealt with the innkeeper while she looked around.

Sounds felt muted somehow after exposure to the roaring wind so she didn't even hear Kyoya angrily being forced to bargain away double the money needed to pay for a night. When he rejoined her, he was muttering under his breath about the injustice of it all. "Just because I'm a Narian Prince…"

"It's alright," she murmured, taking his offered arm as they mounted the stairs, "You have the money anyway."

"It's not about the money. It's about the inequality of it." He stopped on the stairs and glanced at her. "We're fighting for equality for all with our marriage and yet…"

"No one knows about that yet," she reminded him quietly, squeezing his arm gently. Kyoya gazed at her for a moment, noting the weariness that seemed to cling to her features. He frowned slightly as she nodded back up the stairs. He trudged upward slowly, leading the way to their bedroom for the night.

"Are you feeling well, Haruhi?" he asked as she crawled onto the bed and he closed the door. She shrugged, her eyes already drifting closed. Branches of a nearby tree scraped against the side of the inn, making her cringe. "Is it the storm?"

"I'm just tired," she insisted softly. "You can relate, I imagine. Between dealing with the twins, Tamaki, your sister, and my father all week it's amazing one of us didn't go crazy." He would not be put off though and strode forward, sat next to her, and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. She sighed.

"You're warm," he accused.

"I'm fine."

"You have a fever, Haruhi."

"I'm _fine_. The last time I had an illness-related fever I was 6-years-old and my magic chased it off within an hour."

"How long exactly have you known you were ill?"

She shrugged again. "I've been a bit more tired than normal the last few days. Didn't think anything of it though. Having magic as persistent as mine tends to chase off most serious illnesses, it does occasionally have the feverish side effects though, as you'll recall from the Exodus Festival."

"You should have told me."

"There wasn't anything you could do."

"I have medical knowledge, Haruhi. I could have gotten you some kind of medicine."

"Kyoya, I'm not going to die or something. It's just a fever…" She took his hand, frowning at him. "I'll be perfectly healthy in a day or two. I promise."

He shifted his gaze away from her and nodded, switching topics easily. "Father asked Fuyumi to assist you in making plans for the engagement party."

"Did he? That's… interesting. Is he actually going to announce it?"

"Yes. In two weeks, I believe."

"Right after the fall solstice then." Kyoya nodded and she sighed. "Alright, honestly. Can we just go to sleep? The bloody storm's got me on edge as it is and I'm actually quite exhausted."

He looked at her for a bit before nodding slowly and leaving for the bathroom to prepare himself for bed. When he reemerged, she had fallen asleep in her dress. He very nearly smiled and stretched out beside her.

~o~

She was not better in the morning. If anything, she was sicker. Kyoya watched her sleep well into the afternoon the next day, shaking his head in irritation. When she finally opened her eyes and found him reading quietly beside her she mumbled, "What time is it?"

"About 3."

She sat up. "Why didn't you wake me? We need to leave." Then she coughed a bit and slouched back against the pillows.

"You needed the rest. Obviously this isn't _just a fever_." He lowered his voice when he noticed her flinch at the volume. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "I've been better, not going to complain about it though. I can still travel. Honestly. Sitting in a carriage is not that tasking. I'll probably sleep the entire time." He shook his head and felt her forehead. "I'm not a child, you know."

"I know," he replied softly, scowling at her feverishness. "If anything happens to you though, I will feel responsible. I promised your father I'd do my best to keep you safe."

"You can't keep me in a bubble or something though. Everyone gets sick."

"Not witches."

She scowled at him. "Even witches get sick sometimes."

"For an hour." Haruhi sighed and hunkered down in the bed again, conceding to his stubbornness as she didn't have the energy to argue with him. "Could I interest you with some lunch?" he murmured. She shrugged. "You'll eat if I get it for you, right?" A nod. He pursed his lips and pulled himself out of bed, kissing her forehead on his way. She watched him leave through half-closed eyes, letting out a shuddering breath as soon as he was gone.

She felt so much worse than she was saying. To do the little moving that she had during their conversation had taken up all her energy. The last thing she wanted was to eat since she already felt like she was going to upchuck the little that was left in her stomach. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Just about every part of her ached with fever.

And there was absolutely no way she was going to tell Kyoya because all he would do was make himself sick trying to care for her. Besides, she was sure that if he tried using magic on her it would only make her worse. He was right, witches didn't get sick for this long because their magic nuked the virus before it spread. Her headache was probably caused completely by the fact that her magic was automatically working overtime to overcome whatever she'd caught and was failing at that.

It was frightening more because of the fact that she didn't know why her magic was making her worse than that it actually wasn't working. She was incredibly sick and she had absolutely no idea how to fix it or how she was going to keep this up.

Her stomach lurched and just like that she was able to dart to the bathroom. Of course, Kyoya managed to return just when she was sitting on the floor, finished gagging and feeling miserable. "Just a fever?" he mocked softly as he strode in to help her back to bed.

"Shut up," she mumbled, coughing. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She didn't have the energy to fake it anymore, as much as she wanted to. "My magic isn't working…" Haruhi looked up at him as he laid her down again. "I don't think _any _magic is going to work. If anything, it's just making it worse."

"And you can't just turn it off," Kyoya concluded, swearing a bit. "You need medicine. Which will be easier to get once we're home."

She nodded weakly and attempted to relax. She succeeded only in groaning and shifting around. "I feel horrible, honestly. It's like I'm dying."

"You aren't."

"I didn't say I was. I said it was like I am."

"You aren't going to die, Haruhi…" He got quieter, closing his eyes briefly. "You can't."

"I won't."

But the way that she looked at him, exhausted through half-lidded eyes, made him swallow hard and nod his head if only to fake that he was okay. "We'll leave in the morning if you think you can travel."

"Sitting in a carriage sleeping isn't any different than laying here and sleeping," she replied hoarsely, her shoulders rising and falling once weakly. She tried to smile but she couldn't. Kyoya did his best to smile back and also failed, taking hold of the bowl that he'd brought up with him.

"You should eat something," he murmured, "Even if I have to spoon feed it to you."

Haruhi's reply was a groan. "Kyoya I just emptied my stomach. I don't feel like putting anything back in it."

"You need something in your system, Haruhi. Liquids at least." She shook her head but he just smirked and forced a spoonful of soup into her mouth. She scowled at him. "Tell me all your symptoms."

"Headache, nausea, fever, cough, congestion. It's like I'm getting hit with every virus that missed me before." And then it hit her. The timing of the illness fit perfectly. Everything fit. She didn't understand why she hadn't noticed before. She shut her eyes quickly and groaned. "Dammit." She knew what this was. She knew why her magic wasn't affecting it.

"What?" He seemed slightly alarmed but covered it quickly as her eyes opened again.

"I know what this is." He raised a single eyebrow in question. "It's my curse, Kyoya."

"What are you talking about? Your curse says nothing about illness. It has to do with love and yo-"

"If I fall in love, I die. It doesn't specify how I do or how quickly. It's the curse. That's why my magic isn't working. My guess is that because no one's in love with me it's not moving as quickly as it would if I had to kill someone first." She could have laughed. Tamaki had said that it wouldn't kill anyone if she fell in love. What bull. "I'm going to die. Not today maybe not any time soon. It's giving me the chance to be loved in return first."

Kyoya hadn't taken his eyes off her once, his mind racing to figure out every meaning to her words. "But…" He stopped because he couldn't say it. He couldn't possibly ask her.

"It's the sickest thing you've ever heard of isn't it? Killing someone for falling in love slowly and painfully but allowing them the chance to be loved by someone they'll have to kill. Cruelest thing imaginable. Then again, you know my grandmother." And that also accounted for the pain in her chest. Well, the part of it that wasn't her lungs being so congested that she could hardly breathe.

He was still trying to wrap his head around what she had indirectly told him. She seemed to read his mind because her next words were in the form of a scoff, "Of course it's you. Who else? I was in danger the moment I met you." She blinked back the tears that had begun to form and shook her head in disbelief at herself. "We're going to need some serious medicine to combat this crap."

"We have it at the castle," he said, finally finding his voice.

She nodded and took his hand, squeezing it as tightly as she could. "Kyoya, I think you know what's going to happen to me, don't you?" The single nod was all she needed. "Tell me."

He licked his lips and detached himself from the situation before listing it. "If you're right, then you aren't going to get better. Your magic is going to put you in a state of constant exhaustion and you probably won't be able to perform any spells. You'll probably vomit often. Cough even more. Blood will begin to appear in your urine, your coughs, and eventually your vomit. The headache won't go away and if it does it will only be for a brief time period. The medicine will help all that but not make it go away completely. And one by one your organs will begin to fail until, finally, your heart does but by then you'll be in so much pain that you'll be glad."

He accepted it so easily yet looked so _angry _at the same time. "I don't regret it," she told him plainly. "Even if it kills me, I don't regret it. I could never regret meeting you."

Kyoya turned away from her, pushing the soup into her hands. "We're leaving at the dawn. Finish your soup and get some rest." He left her to it and Haruhi couldn't help but feel as though she was at fault for something.

~o~

The weeks preceding Kyoya and Haruhi's engagement party were filled with lots of coughing and vomiting. Haruhi spent most of her time in bed until Fuyumi came to help her prepare. And even then she always turned in early. Kyoya would return from his office to find her curled up fast asleep already. He called it a good day when she'd only vomited once.

Fuyumi's first night in the castle was the worst, mostly because she wanted to do so much with his fiance but Haruhi just didn't have the strength. "We've only just finished dinner. You're going to bed already?" When the younger woman just nodded weakly, his sister glanced at him as he excused himself as well in order to make sure she got to bed alright. He wasn't at all surprised when Fuyumi later confronted him in the hall about it. "She's sick isn't she?"

"Yes."

"When did it happen and how bad is it?"

Kyoya stared at her for the longest time and then closed his eyes. "Since the others left Pait."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Yuiichi only though I suspect Akito and Father have some idea of what's going on. She's requested not to tell her father or Tamaki."

Fuyumi was smart enough to read between the lines. "You're still going to marry her?"

"Of course."

She smiled sadly and murmured, "Kyoya, you… remind me of mom."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged. "You're a good man. She'd be proud. I know I am."

The pregnant Ohtori began to walk away, a smile still on her face when Kyoya called, "Fuyumi, she's dying." He paused and licked his lips as she turned back. "Slowly, but she's dying."

Her sad smile returned, touching her eyes a bit. There weren't words to reply to something like that other than the complete truth. "Yeah… And it's going to hurt like hell. For you and her. But you'll make it through."

Then came the morning the day of the party. Fuyumi came knocking only minutes after he had gotten up. He sighed as he opened the door. Haruhi was still asleep. Before she would have been up two hours ago at least. The contrast in situations hurt more than he liked to think about. "You're both still sleeping?" his sister asked brightly.

Kyoya slumped slightly against the doorframe and rubbed his glass-less eyes. "We… Kind of had a rough night," he murmured quietly. Haruhi shifted slightly and groaned behind him. He glanced back warily. "She needs her rest, Fuyumi. Especially if she's going to be up until god-only-knows-when tonight. When is the absolute latest you have to have her in order to get ready?"

She bit her lip. "Three," she finally stated.

"What on earth could you need to do that takes three hours?"

"Alright. I can handle four as long as she takes a nice long relaxing bath beforehand."

He still didn't understand what took two hours but he threw his hands in the air and nodded, promising quietly that she would bathe before being handed off to her. He closed the door and turned back to the bed to find Haruhi looking at him sleepily. He tried to smile. "Morning."

"If you're going to fake so horribly, then don't fake at all," she muttered grumpily, turning over and promptly going back to sleep. He chuckled lowly and carefully slid back into bed, folding his arms around her. When her fingers curled around his he smiled and brushed the hair back from her face. "You didn't have to send her away," Haruhi mumbled.

"You need your rest."

"I'm not the only one apparently."

"Haruhi, at this point you getting all the rest you need is all I really care about."

"You hardly slept, Kyoya."

"But you did and that's what matters."

"Kyo-"

"Haruhi, I can deal with a bit of exhaustion. You on the other hand are going to be exhausted no matter what you do and it could kill you. Stop fighting me and rest."

"Only if you do as well."

"Very well." He sighed. He had hoped to finish the first draft of the Kiran-Narian-Moradian treaty this morning. Her fingers squeezed his tightly and seconds later he felt her lips against his. "I wish you wouldn't be so stubborn when I'm merely looking at your best interests."

"You forget that I'm also looking at yours." She smiled, placing a hand on his cheek. "You worry far too much even though you're reluctant to show it. I will be fine as long as my grandmother doesn't appear unexpectedly. I can at least fake health reasonably well. Sleep." He conceded with a small grumble.

"Don't forget your medicine."

"How could I with you reminding me every other minute?" He snorted in reply and she managed a small smile, propping herself up on one elbow to look him in the face. He drifted off before long, giving her the opportunity to escape. Kyoya would hate that she wasn't sleeping but all she'd been doing for the last week was sleep. Besides, it wasn't like she was planning on crossing the continent, just the castle.

Haruhi found Charmaine in her regular quarters with her brother, a 32-year-old Narian with a sturdy build and dirty blonde hair. "Haruhi," Maine greeted her with a grin. "Have you met my brother, Valence?"

"I haven't had the pleasure," Haruhi murmured, curtsying. Then she realized that Maine was staring at her curiously.

"Are you feeling alright, love?" she asked, "You're looking a bit peakish."

"Don't be rude, Maine."

"Shut your pie hole, Val."

Haruhi took a deep breath. So perhaps Kyoya was right about her needing more rest. She looked down and closed her eyes for a split second as she saw spots. "I'm fine." When neither sibling said anything she conceded quietly, "He's going to need you. Soon."

"You mean for preparations?"

"No- Well, yes. But that's not what I meant." Haruhi glanced at Valence then back at Charmaine. The elder Hedgewood seemed to get the picture but that didn't stop him from shoving Maine a bit and rolling his eyes on the way out. Once she was sure he was gone she clarified, "Maine, I think I'm dying. And he knows but I don't think he quite realizes just how little time I have left."

Maine scowled. "How do you know?"

"I'm sick. My organs are slowly failing."

"Why?"

"I fell in love with him." Her lower lip trembled. "Try as I might, I fell in love with him anyway. But that really isn't much of a surprise is it?" Maine said nothing, just stared at her in quiet contemplation.

"Why are you telling me this?" she finally murmured.

"Because I want to make sure that someone is here for him. And because… I needed to talk to someone who won't constantly worry about me." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed softly. "And… I'm not even sure how long exactly. I could die before the wedding. He could fall for me and I'd have to kill him and then I'd die off myself. There are so many ways this could go wrong and I don't want him hurt. I don't want him to end up getting hurt because I die. I don't want to make him a widower. Not like his brothers. But no matter how much he forbids me from dying until after the wedding - or at all for that matter - it is still going to happen; whether it's next week or next year, I am going to die and leave him."

"Are you going to call off the engagement?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are you worrying, Haruhi? If it's inevitable then why are you worrying? Just relax and enjoy your time with him while you can." Maine rolled her eyes and started pushing her back toward the door. "Now go back to your room and relax."

"But-"

"You think too much, Haruhi."

And then the door snapped shut behind her and she was standing in the hall alone and exhausted. Slowly, she returned to their room, opening the door carefully so she wouldn't wake Kyoya. She walked to the bed and sat down, gazing at the sleeping prince for several minutes before closing her eyes.

Sometimes she really wished that she lived in a fairytale with a guaranteed happy ending.

~o~

**A/N: Okay. I know it's been three and a half months. I KNOW OKAY? I'M SORRY. You should expect hiatuses while I'm working on a quarter at school though. Should have mentioned that. My only other excuse is Netflix. HALP. NETFLIX HAS OVERTAKEN MY WRITING LIFE. HAAAAALP. **

**Really, some of this I'm just making up as I go along… Though this might be a bit too far. Especially considering how many times I've thought I was dying. And I mean like… Dying at a faster than normal rate. **

**Kudos to: Nessie-san, Cactus2008, XXLoKLoverXX, Magpie09, StrawberryGlazed, Alethotaku, isara-love, mtnikolle, Vicky. keyworth, The Egoist's Girlfriend, SETxMExFREE (screaming because I just realized that you're reading this and Emeritus is one of my favorite stories), daisy0000000, and Koharu Veddette! **


End file.
